Manila - The Philippine military ruled out force for the time being to rescue three staff of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) being held captive by Muslim militants on a southern island, an armed forces spokesman said Wednesday.

Brigadier General Gaudencio Pangilinan said the aim of the military was to rescue Swiss Andreas Notter, Italian Eugenio Vagni and Filipino Mary Jean Lacaba "without any violence."

Manila  - More than 100 dolphins were beached Tuesday in a northern Philippine town and at least three of them were already dead, a local official said.

The dolphins crowded the sea off Pilar town in Bataan province, 75 kilometres north-west of Manila, according to provincial Governor Enrique Garcia.

Garcia said fishermen in the area were at a loss on what to do with the mammals.

He added that his office has already called up public and private agencies that can help save the dolphins.

Zamboanga City, Philippines - Ten people were wounded when suspected Muslim militants fired mortars near a military camp on a southern Philippine island where government troops clashed with the kidnappers of three Red Cross staff, a marine commander said Tuesday.

Major General Juancho Sabban said the attack occurred late Monday as government troops clashed with Muslim Abu Sayyaf rebels holding captive three employees of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) on Jolo island, 1,000 kilometres south of Manila.

Manila - The European Union on Monday underscored the need to incorporate the protection and promotion of human rights into an agreement being negotiated with the Philippines, which seeks to expand political, security and economic cooperation.

James Moran, the EU's director for Asia and chief EU negotiator for the Partnership Cooperation Agreement (PCA) with the Philippines, stressed that human rights is one of the cornerstones of the pact.

"Respect of human rights and the collective preservation of peace and security are the very basis for improving the life of our peoples," he said at the start of two-day negotiations in Manila. "This is one of the objectives of the PCA."

Manila  - Five people were killed in floods and landslides triggered by heavy rains in the central Philippines on the weekend, authorities said Monday.

Three people drowned in floods in Dumaguete City in Negros Oriental province, 645 kilometres south of Manila, according to provincial Governor Emilio Macias II.

Macias said two children were also reported killed in a landslide in nearby Valencia town.

Zamboanga City, Philippines  - Two Muslim militants were killed Monday during a clash with government troops in a southern Philippine island, a navy spokesman said.

Lieutenant Colonel Edgard Arevalo said the fighting erupted before dawn when troops searching for several kidnap victims in Akbar town in Basilan province, 900 kilometres south of Manila, encountered undetermined number of Abu Sayyaf rebels, a militant group linked to the al-Qaeda terror network.