A foreigner who flew to the Philippines from the Middle East has become the second confirmed case of MERS in the country, the health department said Monday, as a deadly outbreak in South Korea spreads alarm across Asia.

The 36-year-old male patient, whose nationality was not disclosed, has been put in isolation at a government facility to contain the virus, Health Secretary Janette Garin said.

The death toll from a ferry that capsized in the central Philippines has risen to 61, the coast guard said Sunday, indicating that the vessel was overloaded.

Whether the ferry was carrying too many people will be part of an investigation into last week's disaster off the city of Ormoc, which has seen the boat's owner and crew charged with murder.

The Philippines expects a United Nations tribunal to rule in its favor in an increasingly fraught dispute with China over territories in the South China Sea, a presidential spokeswoman said Saturday.

Manila will argue its position against Beijing's claim over most of the resource-rich sea at The Hague on July 7 to 13.

A strong 6.1-magnitude quake struck off the southern Philippines on Friday, the U.S. Geological Survey said.

There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties after the undersea quake struck at 2:43pm (0643) GMT some 62 kilometers (38.5 miles) northeast of Surigao city on Mindanao island.

Anguished families wept over the bodies of dead relatives as the search for survivors from the Philippines' latest ferry disaster ended Friday with 45 confirmed deaths, officials said.

All 187 people on board the capsized Kim Nirvana were accounted for with 142 confirmed to have survived, Philippine Coast Guard spokesman Commander Armand Balilo told Agence France Presse.

The Philippines said Thursday it wants to acquire defense equipment from Japan, as the two allies strengthen defense ties in the face of China's increasing assertiveness in the South China Sea.

Manila was particularly keen on the P-3C Orion surveillance plane flown by Japanese pilots during recent joint exercises over disputed waters also claimed by Beijing, a defense ministry spokesman said.

Controversial Philippine vice president Jejomar Binay on Wednesday angrily lashed out at President Benigno Aquino as he declared his determination to run for president in 2016.

Binay, 73, a former staunch supporter of the Aquino family, accused the ruling administration of practising "twisted justice" and of failing to improve life for the poor in the Southeast Asian archipelago of 100 million.

Japan and the Philippines flew patrol planes near disputed South China Sea waters for a second straight day on Wednesday, despite Chinese criticism of this week's air and sea exercises.

A Japanese P-3C Orion and a Philippine navy Islander conducted a search and rescue drill 50 nautical miles (93 kilometers) northwest of the Philippine island of Palawan, officials said.

Japanese and Philippine military planes flew together near disputed South China Sea waters on Tuesday, as the two countries deepened their alliance in the face of separate territorial disputes with China.

A Japanese P-3C Orion and a Philippine Islander plane flew together from the western island of Palawan with three Filipino military observers aboard the Japanese plane, according to Philippine spokesman Commander Lued Lincuna.

Suspected Muslim extremists in the southern Philippines set off a roadside bomb that killed a soldier and wounded eight others on Tuesday, a military spokesman said.

The troops were on patrol on a military truck in the island of Basilan when the bomb went off, said Ensign Chester Ramos, spokesman of a special anti-terror task force.