Manila  - Air force helicopters joined Tuesday in the search for at least 28 people missing after an overloaded boat capsized and sank in the northern Philippines, killing at least 27 people.

Lieutenant Commander Ferdinand Panganiban, a local coast guard commander, said 45 people survived the sinking Sunday of the MB Maejan off the coast of Ballesteros town in Cagayan province, 420 kilometres north of Manila.

Panganiban said rescuers were scouring nearby islands and islets in hopes of recovering more survivors who might have been able to swim to safety.

Maejan left Calayan Island for the mainland town of Aparri when it was battered by huge waves and strong winds, causing it to capsize.

Manila  - A boat with more than 100 passengers capsized in the northern Philippines, killing 22 people, the coast guard said Monday.

While 46 people survived, 34 were still missing from the sinking of the MB Maejan on Sunday off Ballesteros town in the province of Cagayan, 420 kilometres north of Manila.

Elena Bautista, chief of the Maritime Industry Authority, said the boat was already near the pier when it was suddenly battered by large waves.

Manila  - A pa

Manila - Three drug suspects were killed in a shootout with police officers in a southern Philippine town, a police report said Saturday.

Manila - President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo left Saturday for a three-day official visit to Qatar in a bid to attract investments to boost the Philippine economy.

Arroyo was also expected to meet with executives of Middle East companies employing hundreds of thousands of Filipino workers, to seek assurances of their employment amid the global economic crisis.

She will also meet with the different Philippine ambassadors to the Middle East countries in order to assess the impact of the crisis on the Filipino migrant workers in the area.

Manila  - Philipine shares slipped 2.03 per cent on Friday tracking a fall on Wall Street over continued uncertainty over a rescue package for US carmakers.