Army Chief Gregorio Camiling ordered hot pursuit operations after some 200 NPA rebels swooped down on the Army detachment in Oras town of province Eastern Samar. Eleven militiamen, five soldiers and a civilian were slain in the attack.

Earlier on Friday, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo ordered police and military troops to combine their intelligence resources against the NPA, vowing that rebels responsible for the recent attacks would be dealt with "swiftly and forcibly."

"We have the duty to protect our own far-flung military and police outposts with forward intelligence coverage," she added.

The NPA, the armed wing of the National Democratic Front (NDF),has been fighting insurgence war since its establishment in 1969. It has an estimated membership of around 10,000.

Peace talks between the government and the NDF have been suspended since June 2001 after the rebels allegedly assassinated two congressmen.

(Xinhua News Agency June 28, 2003)