Catholic leaders in the Philippines have lambasted a government campaign that encourages condom use to help prevent HIV/AIDS, while a health official has blamed the church for thwarting its drive.

A Filipino Mennonite pastor, concerned at how coffee processing corporations had long short-changed indigenous people in the southern Philippines island of Mindanao, has launched a Fair Trade initiative.

The formal democracy of the Philippines disguises a welter of corruption, human rights abuse and extrajudicial killings, says Shay Cullen. The world needs to recognise and respond to what is happening.

The mother of disappeared Philippines activist Jonas Burgos arrives in the UK next week on the first leg of a European tour highlighting the plight of her son and other missing persons.