Manila - A village official was killed and three police wounded Thursday in a landmine explosion as they responded to an attack by communist rebels on a banana plantation in the southern Philippines, a military spokesman said.

A group of guerrillas barged into the plantation owned by Dole Philippines in Luna Norte village in Makilala town, North Cotabato province, 960 kilometres south of Manila, and burned heavy equipment, Major Armand Rico said.

The regional military spokesman said the attack was apparently in retaliation for the company's refusal to pay "revolutionary taxes."

"Village officials and police responded to the incident immediately, but upon reaching Luna Norte, a landmine exploded along the way, resulting in the death of a village councilor and the wounding of three cops," he said.

Rico said troops have been dispatched to track down the guerrillas.

The attack occurred days after the military dispatched additional troops to the southern Philippines, where communist rebels have been blamed for 100 "atrocities" in the first quarter of the year, including killings, arson, extortion attempts, attacks on businesses and assaults on military targets.

On Sunday, the guerrillas torched a drilling machine of a mining company in nearby Davao Del Sur province, also allegedly because of the firm's failure to pay "revolutionary taxes."

Communist rebels have been fighting the Philippine government since the late 1960s, making the movement one of the longest-running leftist insurgencies in Asia. There are an estimated 5,000 guerrilla fighters in the country now. (dpa)