Manila  - Philippine shares rose 2.51 per cent on Thursday as investors snapped up bargain stocks, buoyed by strong performances in Wall Street and other Asian markets.

The Philippine Stock Exchange's 30-share composite index gained 48.26 points to close at 1,988.28 from Wednesday's finish of 1,939.69.

A total of 1.18 million shares valued at 2.73 billion pesos (56.28 million dollars) were traded.

Gainers outpaced losers 84 to 21, with 34 issues unchanged.

Manila - Philippine graft investigators on Wednesday recommended criminal charges against 17 public works officials for corruption in a road project funded by the World Bank.

Assistant Ombudsman Mark Jalandoni said investigators found probable cause to file charges against the 17 officials for allegedly rigging the bidding for the 330-million-dollar project.

Jalandoni said the officials allowed the bidding for the road project to proceed despite the fact that the bids were above the approved budget.

Manila - Muslim militants holding captive three Red Cross workers in the southern Philippines have threatened to behead one of the hostages if government troops do not move out of their jungle hideouts by the end of the month, officials said Wednesday.

The latest threat was issued by Abu Sayyaf rebel leader Albader Parad on Monday as the military stepped up a blockade to prevent food and supplies from reaching the guerrillas in the hinterland of Indanan town on Jolo island, 1,000 kilometres south of Manila.

Manila - A Filipino fashion designer was under fire in the Philippines Wednesday for berating and insulting employees of a duty-free shop in a "creative outburst" caught on video.

Angelo Fajardo even demanded a cashier at the a duty free shop outside Manila's international airport to kneel for his forgiveness after his tantrum on March 13.

Fajardo's flare-up, which was caught on a surveillance video, triggered public ire when the footage was uploaded on the popular video sharing site YouTube.

Manila - Former Philippine president Joseph Estrada is facing an investigation for allegedly displaying in public a toy machine gun, police said Wednesday.

Police Director General Jesus Versoza said Estrada might be charged for violation of a 1982 edict of former dictator Ferdinand Marcos, which prohibits civilians from displaying real or fake high-powered firearms.

"I think there are some executive orders that are prohibiting the use of toy guns and displaying them in public," Versoza said.

Manila - The Philippine armed forces suspended on Tuesday military operations against Muslim militants to pave the way for negotiations for the release of three Red Cross hostages on a southern island, a navy spokesman said.

Lieutenant Colonel Edgard Arevalo said the military was holding off its offensives against Muslim Abu Sayyaf rebels on Jolo island, 1,000 kilometres south of Manila, to allow negotiations for the release of three captive personnel of the International Committee of the Red Cross.