He said soldiers will be mobilized to help local authorities collect the debris that have clogged streets and waterways.

Some of the displaced in still-crowded evacuation centers have begun to trickle back to their communities, where floodwaters have subsided, Social Welfare Secretary Dinky Soliman said.

Reservists will be assigned to help repack relief supplies for people still in emergency shelters, Ramos said.

North of the city, rains still poured intermittently and a helicopter carrying President Benigno Aquino III had to land on an isolated portion of a highway early Friday when visibility became difficult, said his spokesman Ricky Carandang.

No one was hurt and the presidential party proceeded by car to visit flood victims in his home province of Tarlac, Carandang said.

The death toll from the floods rose to 60 early Friday after casualty reports came in from more provinces, Ramos said. Most were drowning victims. At least seven were missing.