Manila  - The Philippines plans to dispatch a team of 133 police officers to join a UN peacekeeping mission in East Timor, a police spokesman said Thursday.

Chief Superintendent Nicanor Bartolome said the officers scheduled to leave Manila on Friday and April 17 form the third police contingent that would be sent to East Timor.

"The Philippines continues to be the leading provider of police officers to the UN peacekeeping operations around the world," Bartolome said.

Currently, 236 Filipino police officers are deployed in UN peacekeeping missions in Liberia, Sudan, Afghanistan, Haiti and Georgia. (dpa)