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President Gloria Arroyo plans to beef up the military and police by enlisting some 7,000 new soldiers and 5,000 additional policemen, a lawmaker revealed yesterday.

Philippine National Police (PNP) chief, Director General Leandro Mendoza, yesterday assured all foreign visitors of their safety in the country as he corrected "misconceptions" about an earlier report warning about poor security.

The Philippine government is not likely to accede to a demand by a United States lawmaker to use U.S. troops in the rescue of two Americans and a Filipina being held by Abu Sayyaf rebels in southern Philippines, a top defence official in Manila said yesterday.

Six people died and another is reported missing as heavy rains caused by tropical depression "Juan" pounded Metro Manila over the past two days, the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) said yesterday.

Both Philippine and U.S. military officials in southern Basilan yesterday denied reports that an American soldier, accompanied by Filipino troops, shot and wounded a Muslim villager last Wednesday while arresting a suspected Abu Sayyaf member in a remote village.

Despite the military takeover of its major camps in central and southern Mindanao two years ago, the separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) has remained a potent force that could deal a severe blow to government forces if ever peace negotiations between the two sides break down, an intelligence assessment said.

Five Abu Sayyaf rebels were killed during a clash with the elite Filipino army troops in Landogan village, Lantawan, Basilan, yesterday, the military said.

A group of top ranking police and military men will intervene in case retired generals gain ground in the Armed Forces, in their call for the withdrawal of support for impeached President Joseph Estrada, said a former rebel military officer who joined a right wing rebel group in 1986.

Authorities reiterated their refusal to identify the mastermind behind the murder of publicist Salvador "Bubby" Dacer and his driver, Emmanuel Corbito, on November 24, saying it would be made on the day of the elections on May 14.

Security forces were sent yesterday to central Mindanao to track down several gunmen who killed an Irish priest in what authorities say was a failed attempt to abduct the foreigner in southern Lanao del Sur's province's Malabang town.

Military authorities have intensified their intelligence operations to determine the whereabouts of Abu Sayyaf chieftain, Khadafy Janjalani, who has reportedly slipped out of the Abu Sayyaf lair in southern Philippine's Basilan two weeks ago with two Arab guests.

Following the resurgence of communist and Moro militant activities, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) is seeking additional personnel to bolster its ranks to better cope with threats against the state.