Philippine officials ordered a crackdown Monday on people being allowed daily visits to the homes they fled after Taal volcano erupted, citing threats it could still explode at any time. 

The threat of the Philippines' Taal volcano unleashing a potentially catastrophic eruption remains high, authorities warned Thursday, saying it was showing dangerous signs despite a "lull" in spewing ash.

The number of people killed by a powerful storm that pummeled the central Philippines over Christmas has risen to 50, authorities said Tuesday, making it the nation's deadliest storm of 2019.

A strong typhoon that barreled through the central Philippines left at least 28 dead and 12 missing, and forced thousands to flee their homes, devastating Christmas celebrations in the predominantly Roman Catholic country.

Typhoon Phanfone stranded many people in sea and airports at the peak of holiday travel, set off landslides, flooded low-lying villages, destroyed houses, downed trees and electrical poles and knocked out power in entire provinces. One disaster response officer described the battered coastal town of Batad in Iloilo province as a "ghost town" on Christmas Day.

Tourists on the popular Philippine holiday island of Boracay were stranded on Thursday after a typhoon swept across on Christmas Day, killing at least 16 people in other parts of the country.

Typhoon Phanfone, with wind gusts reaching 200 kilometres (125 miles) an hour, tore roofs off houses and toppled electric posts as it ripped through the central Philippines on Wednesday. 

Thousands of people in typhoon-prone central Philippines have had their Christmas plans ruined after they were told to leave their homes as a severe tropical storm approaches.

Officials on Christmas Eve said residents should evacuate coastal areas, and thousands more were stranded at ports with ferry services shut down as the nation hunkered down for rain and strong winds.

Eight people were killed and dozens injured when a series of earthquakes struck islands in the far northern Philippines early Saturday, terrifying locals and sparking an urgent search of collapsed homes.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte's narcotics crackdown has  become a "systematic" campaign of abuses, Amnesty International alleged on Monday, urging the United Nations to launch a probe into thousands of killings.

The Philippines on Saturday rejected a call for an independent United Nations probe into Manila's alleged human rights violations, describing it as interference in the affairs of the Asian nation.

UN rights experts asked the UN Human Rights Council on Friday to look into the "staggering number of unlawful deaths and police killings in the context of the so-called war on drugs, as well as killings of human rights defenders".

Allies of President Rodrigo Duterte stormed to a landslide victory in midterm polls, final results showed Wednesday, dissolving a last check on his controversial rule.