Thousands of people including activists and clergy gathered at the Philippine capital's main park on Monday in a rally to denounce the "pork barrel" system which they blame for spreading corruption.

Eight women died in the Philippine capital on Friday as a fire engulfed a building in which they had been locked in by their employer, police said.

Eight other women survived the blaze by climbing to the roof of the two-storey building and jumping off, said police officer Cris Gabutin, an investigator in the case.

The Philippine government said Saturday it was investigating a Filipina diplomat charged in Canada for alleged human trafficking involving the exploitation of her nanny.

"The (foreign affairs) department takes very seriously any allegations of misconduct of its employees. The department is conducting an inquiry into the matter," its spokesman Charles Jose said in a statement to news agencies.

Philippine rescuers on Saturday called off the search for survivors after a powerful earthquake on the tourist island of Bohol that killed at least 180 people.

"The rescue operations have ended and instead we are now conducting recovery operations," said disaster chief Eduardo del Rosario.

Typhoon Nari pounded the northern Philippines early Saturday, killing 13 people, ripping roofs off thousands of buildings, and leaving more than two million without power.

Nari tore into the country's northeast coast around midnight (1600 GMT Friday), toppling trees and pylons as it cut a westward swathe through the farming regions of the main island of Luzon, officials said.

A false bomb alert snarled traffic in much of the Philippine capital Wednesday, as police stopped vehicles traveling on a major road while trying to defuse what they thought may be an explosive device.

The backpack containing the alleged bomb was found to hold nothing more than dirty clothes and other assorted items, the police investigator handling the case said.

Tens of thousands of people gathered in a central Manila park on Monday to protest against embedded corruption in the Philippine political system after a rallying call on Facebook and Twitter.

The so-called "million people march" is one of the largest public demonstrations since President Benigno Aquino was elected in 2010 on an anti-corruption platform.

Benigno Aquino survived a deadly assassination attempt during his struggle to the top of bare-knuckle Philippine politics, but there is one foe the president cannot beat: flowers.

Aquino's spokeswoman Abigail Valte revealed Thursday the 53-year-old was taking a sick day due to his allergy to flowers.

Philippine slum dwellers hurling rocks, improvised explosives and human excrement fought running battles with riot police Monday around a sprawling Manila shanty town that is set for redevelopment, an AFP photographer saw.

Police said an officer was hospitalized with a head injury while several residents of the North Triangle slum were briefly detained, though none were charged and were later released.

Philippine aviation authorities shut down one of the country's busiest airports on Monday after a passenger jet overshot the runway when landing during a rainstorm, officials said.

The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) said Davao International Airport in the south of the country would be closed until Monday evening while authorities removed the Cebu Pacific Airbus A320 plane.