A Philippine government soldier and two rebel guerillas were killed in a firefight in outskirts of Buhi town in Camarines Sur Province, north of the country Saturday.

The government troops' latest clash with the insurgents of the New People's Army (PNA) occurred around 5:10 a.m. at the village of Monte Calvario, Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) public information office chief Tristan Kison told a briefing in Manila, quoting a report from the military's command center.

Kison said troops from the 9th Scout Ranger Company of the 3rd Scout Ranger Battalion, an elite unit from the Army, were conducting combat operation in the area when they clashed with at least five fully-armed NPA guerillas.

One soldier and the two rebels were killed, Kison said, adding that the troops recovered two M16 rifles, two rifle grenades and two grenades from the scene of the encounter.

The identities of the killed rebels were not immediately available while the military withheld the name of the dead soldier pending the notification of his families.

The NPA pulled out from the formal peace negotiations with the government in 2004 following their inclusion in the U.S. list of foreign terrorist organizations.

Earlier on Friday, the Philippine government said it wants the NPA insurgency crippled in two years.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo released 1 billion pesos (19 million U.S. dollars) in additional funds to the military and police to improve their capability to address the 37-year-old insurgency.

Source: Xinhua