Manila - Hundreds of thousands of barefoot devotees joined an annual procession in the Philippine capital on Friday to honour a centuries-old statue of a suffering Jesus Christ.

Security was tight at Quiapo district in downtown Manila, with hundreds of police officers deployed since Thursday night when devotees of the Black Nazarene began to gather for a vigil.

Traffic had been re-routed away from the Quiapo Church, but surrounding streets were still jammed due to the huge crowd.

Cotabato City, Philippines - Muslim separatist rebels attacked a southern Philippine village, torching at least 30 homes of Christian families, an army spokesman said Thursday.

No one was hurt in the raid on Sanga village in Kalamansig town in Sultan Kudarat province, 930 kilometres south of Manila, on Wednesday, said Lieutenant Colonel Julieto Ando.

Ando said about 150 Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) rebels occupied the farming village, forcing some 500 families to flee their homes.

On Wednesday, government security forces launched air and ground assaults on the rebels, who torched the homes in a bid to slow down the troops.

"We are using OV-10 and MG-520 aircraft to drive them away," Ando said.

Cotabato City, Philippines - Philippine troops on Wednesday recovered a homemade bomb planted by suspected Muslim separatist rebels under a bridge in a southern village, an army spokesman said.

Lieutenant Colonel Julieto Ando said the bomb was found under the bridge in Labu-Labu village in Shariff Aguak town, Maguindanao province, 960 kilometres south of Manila.

The bomb, made from a an 81-millimetre mortar shell, was safely defused two hours after it was recovered, Ando said.

He said Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) rebels were suspected to be behind the bombing attempt following airstrikes on guerrilla positions on Tuesday.

"We believe it is part of the rebels' diversionary tactic because they suffered as many as 10 fatalities in our airstrikes," he said.

Manila - Four gunmen were killed in a pre-dawn shootout with police officers in the Philippine capital Manila, a police official said.

The men refused to stop their vehicle at a police checkpoint in the Manila suburban city of Quezon, triggering a chase, said Chief Superintendent Orlando Mabutas.

When the suspects' vehicle hit a wall, the gunmen alighted and shot it out with police officers, Mabutas said.

Three of the suspects died on the spot, while the fourth gunman was declared dead on arrival in hospital.

Manila - Communist rebels in the Philippines on Tuesday released an army lieutenant after two months in captivity, the military said.

Lieutenant Vicente Cammayo was turned over to a local official in Kausagan village in Loreto town in Agusan del Sur province, 900 kilometres south of Manila.

Military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Ernesto Torres said Cammayo was freed because of the efforts of local officials, his family and security forces in the area.

Cammayo was captured by communist rebels after a clash in nearby Compostela Valley province on November 7. Two soldiers were also killed in the fighting.

Cotabato City, Philippines - A vice mayor of a southern Philippine town was killed in an attack by unidentified gunmen, police said Tuesday.

Froilan Rufino, 50, vice mayor of President Quirino town in Sultan Kudarat province, 930 kilometres south of Manila, died of three gunshot wounds to the head.

Police Senior Superintendent Benhur Mongao said Rufino was inside his residential compound in Patiko village when two gunmen riding a motorcycle opened fire at him Monday evening.

"No one saw the suspects because it was dark at the victim's place," he said.

Mongao said investigators were still determining a motive for the killing, which happened while Rufino was alone at the house.