Tagum City, Philippines  - Communist rebels killed a town police chief they kidnapped in the southern Philippines, a provincial police chief said Wednesday.

The body of Inspector Jonel Belenson was recovered a few hours after he and police officer Raul Balmores were seized by the rebels in Boston town in Davao Oriental province, 960 kilometres south of Manila, on Tuesday.

Senior Superintendent Jimmy Manabat said the two victims were riding on a motorcycle on the way to a court hearing when the rebels blocked their path in the village of Kapatagan and seized them.

"Belenson tried to escape but he was shot dead by the rebels," Manabat said.

Manabat said the fate of Balmores remained uncertain. But sources said he was also killed by the rebels.

Communist rebels have in the past abducted and killed police officers accused of committing human rights abuses and other "crimes against the masses."

The guerrillas have been fighting the Philippine government since the late 1960s, making the movement one of the longest-running leftist insurgencies in Asia. (dpa)