Manila, July 20 -- Severe Tropical Storm Wipha (international name, formerly "Crising") continued to move farther away from the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR), but the southwest monsoon (habagat) will continue to bring rains across large parts of the country, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said Sunday.

As of 3 a.m., Wipha was last spotted 655 kilometers west of Itbayat, Batanes, packing maximum sustained winds of 100 km per hour near the center and gusts of up to 125 kph. It is moving west-northwest at 30 kph and remains outside PAR.

Despite the storm's exit, PAGASA warned that the habagat would continue to bring monsoon rains over the provinces of Pangasinan, Zambales,...