Manila  - Four children were killed Monday when fire gutted their home south of the Philippine capital, a provincial police chief said.

Senior Superintendent Jesus Gatchalian said the victims, aged 5 to 9, were sleeping when the fire broke out in their house in Padre Garcia town in Batangas province, 90 kilometres south of Manila.

Gatchalian said the father, who survived the accident, was not able to save the children because the flames spread swiftly. The mother was not at the house at the time of the accident.

Davao City, Philippines  - A pro-government militiaman was killed in a clash with communist rebels in the southern Philippines, an army spokeswoman said Monday.

Captain Ma. Rosa Cristina Manuel said the fighting erupted Sunday when troops encountered an undetermined number of guerrillas in Baganga town in Davao Oriental province, 1,005 kilometres south of Manila.

Manuel said more troops have been dispatched to the area to conduct pursuit operations.

Zamboanga City, Philippines  - Three people were killed when pirates attacked a trawler in the southern Philippines, a local official said Sunday.

The pirates also took captive two crewmen from the trawler during the attack in the sea off Basilan province, 900 kilometres south of Manila, late Thursday.

Rasheed Sakkalahul, the province's deputy governor, said the pirates opened fire at the fishing boat, boarded the vessel and killed three crewmen.

Manila  - Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo ordered an investigation into the killing of the daughter of a senior communist rebel leader, an official said Saturday.

Arroyo wanted the killers of Rebelyn Pitao, 20, to be immediately brought to justice, Press Secretary Cerge Remonde said.

Pitao was a daughter of Leoncio Pitao, also known as Commander Parago, of the New People's Army, the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines.

Zamboanga City, Philippines  - A broadcast journalist was wounded in an attack by unidentified gunmen in a southern Philippine city, a police report said Friday.

Nilo Libares had just left the compound of Radio Agong dxCC in Cagayan de Oro City, 810 kilometres south of Manila, on Thursday afternoon when two gunmen fired at him.

Colleagues immediately rushed the victim to a nearby hospital.

Davao City, Philippines  - A daughter of a senior communist rebel leader was found dead in the southern Philippines, a day after she was abducted by unidentified gunmen, a police report said Friday.

The body of Rebelyn Pitao, 20, was fished out of a river in Carmen town in Davao Del Norte province, 975 kilometres south of Manila, late Thursday.

Rebelyn was the daughter of Leoncio Pitao, also known as Commander Parago of the New People's Army, the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines.