Communist guerrillas killed two Philippine soldiers on Monday, military officials said, their first deadly attack since two senior rebel leaders were arrested.

A group of soldiers were ambushed by rebels in Quezon province, about 150 kilometers (93 miles) southeast of Manila, local spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Oliver Maquiling said, leaving a lieutenant and a regular soldier dead and four others wounded.

The Philippines' highest-ranking communist guerrilla leader was arrested Saturday in a "victory" for national peace and security, the armed forces chief said.

Communist Party of the Philippines chairman Benito Tiamzon and his wife, the party's secretary general Wilma Tiamzon, were arrested in a joint police and military operation, military chief of staff General Emmanuel Bautista said in a statement.

The Philippines will have to downgrade its target to reduce poverty, officials warned Tuesday, a move which would leave an additional four million people virtually destitute in 2016.

Socio-economic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said that although economic growth had remained strong, it had failed to lift as many people out of poverty as expected.

Returning to their destroyed village after a catastrophic typhoon that killed thousands in the Philippines last year, a weary band of Catholics vowed a lifelong sacrifice to thank God for saving them.

They had walked through the streets of their hometown for three consecutive days before the storm with icons in hand while praying and asking the Lord to spare them from the looming disaster.

The Philippines said Friday a deal to allow a greater U.S. military presence on its territory could be signed next month, in a timely defense boost amid a worsening territorial row with China.

There was optimism the pact could be secured ahead of U.S. President Barack Obama's April visit to Manila after the two sides agreed on a contentious issue that would see U.S. forces build "structures" on their hosts military bases, Filipino officials said.

The Philippine military said Thursday it had evaded a Chinese sea blockade by using an airplane to drop food to soldiers on a tiny and remote South China Sea shoal claimed by both countries.

The incident was the latest to escalate tensions between the Asian nations over their conflicting claims to parts of the South China Sea, a major sealane and rich fishing ground that is believed to hold vast mineral resources.

Humanitarian workers are scrambling to fill a void left by the collapse of governments in three of the world's hotspots amid an unprecedented demand for help in the past year.

In Syria, the Central African Republic and South Sudan, the World Health Organization is having to step in with other humanitarian groups to provide basic health services that would normally be delivered by a functioning government.

The United States on Wednesday accused China of raising tensions by blocking two Philippines vessels as it urged freedom of navigation in the tense South China Sea.

The United States, a treaty-bound ally of Manila, said it was "troubled" by Sunday's incident in which China prevented movement of two ships contracted by the Philippine navy to deliver supplies and troops to the disputed Second Thomas Shoal.

Amnesty International criticized the Philippine government Wednesday for allegedly failing to crack down on torture committed by the security forces against detained persons.

"Impunity for torture and other ill-treatment remains a critical human rights problem in the Philippines," London-based Amnesty charged in a letter to the United Nations Human Rights Council.

The Philippines said Tuesday it had lodged a formal protest after two Filipino vessels were prevented from bringing supplies to marines by the Chinese coastguard on a disputed shoal in the South China Sea.

The foreign ministry said the Chinese charge d'affaires was summoned over the March 9 incident on Second Thomas Shoal, which sits around 200 kilometers (125 miles) from the western Philippine island of Palawan and is part of the contested Spratly island group.