Manila - Philippine stocks surged 4.73 per cent on Thursday following gains in regional markets and the US Federal Reserve's interest rate cut, traders said.

The 30-share composite index added 84.29 points to close up for the second straight session at 1,864.93, from Wednesday's finish of 1,780.64.

A total of 1.885 billion shares worth 2.517 billion pesos (51.367 million dollars) were traded.

Gainers swamped losers 88 to 21, while 27 issues were unchanged.

Manila - Islamic militants on Thursday freed one of two abducted humanitarian workers after 45 days in captivity in the southern Philippines, police and local officials said.

The freed hostage was identified as Esperancita Hupida, programme coordinator of a non-government organization serving poor communities in Basilan province, 900 kilometres south of Manila.

Chief Superintendent Bensali Jabarani, a regional police commander, said Hupida was released at dawn by Muslim Abu Sayyaf rebels in a remote village in Tipo-Tipo town.

Hupida's husband fetched her from the area, upon instructions from the guerrillas, according to Basilan Vice Governor Al-Rasheed Sakalahul.

Manila - Philippine troops recovered three homemade bombs planted in a bus terminal in the southern Philippines, an army spokesman said Wednesday.

The improvised explosive devices were found Tuesday in Kabacan town in North Cotabato province, 960 kilometres south of Manila, according to Lieutenant Colonel Romeo Brawner.

Brawner said the bombs were made from 81-millimetre and 60-millimetre mortars that were attached to electric blasting caps with mechanical timers.

Manila - Philippine share prices rose 4.47 per cent on Wednesday as investors snapped up bargain stocks following overnight gains in Wall Street.

The 30-share composite index of the Philippine Stock Exchange added 76.23 points to close at 1,780.64 from Tuesday's finish of 1,704.41.

A total of 1.158 billion shares worth 2.319 billion pesos (47.32 million dollars) were traded.

Gainers led losers 87 to 27, while 41 issues were unchanged.

Manila - Countries affected by the global financial crisis should remain open to migrant workers who can help boost their ailing economies amid the economic slowdown, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said Wednesday.

Ban said he was "deeply concerned" that more than 200 million migrant workers around the world were adversely affected by the economic slowdown, as labourers in badly hit sectors such as construction and tourism start to lose their jobs.

"Today, we face a cascade of national financial crises throughout the world," he told the Global Forum on Migration and Development in Manila. "Almost none of our economies is insulated."