Manila  - Eight employees of the environment department were kidnapped Wednesday in the southern Philippines, a regional military commander said.

The employees were manning an environment checkpoint in a forest area in Butuan City, 810 kilometres south of Manila, when seven armed men captured them before dawn, according to Major General Raymundo Ferrer.

Ferrer said the pickup truck used by the employees was also seized by the suspects.

Communist guerrillas, who have been fighting the government since the late 1960s, were known to operate in the general area.(dpa)