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Despite having a total of 1, 367 patients who recovered from the A(H1N1) or the “swine flu” infections in the Philippines, still it has ranked No. 8 worldwide in terms of confirmed cases, overtaking Argentina and Japan. The World Health Organization (WHO), in its latest pandemic update issued on July 3, showed the Philippines with a total of 1,709 confirmed cases while Japan has 1,466 and Argentina with 1,587.

In Southeast Asia, the Philippines ranked first, surpassing Thailand with 1, 414 cases of influenza infections. However, A(H1N1) related deaths in the Philippines are lower with only one case documented since the outbreak of the flu virus in April. The United States still remains as the country with the most number of deaths at 170, followed by Mexico with 119 deaths.

A total of 89,921 cases have already been recorded by WHO, following the discovery of 12,520 newly confirmed cases. These cases are mostly from the US with 6,185, Mexico withe 1,582, Chile with 1,165, United Kingdom with 909 and the Philippines with 848 new cases.

As the Tokyo official visit of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo ended, the Philippines has secured $5 billion in investment commitments and offers of official development assistance which is focused primarily on agriculture credit programs, infrastructure, and disaster mitigation projects.

Pres. Arroyo met with Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko and held talks with Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso. Both countries vowed to “foster a strategic partnership for the future”.

The two leaders likewise announced the start of talks for a mutual legal assistance treaty and a social security agreement between the Philippines and Japan.