Manila - Human Rights Watch on Thursday urged Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to immediately condemn the existence of a death squad that it said has killed more than 800 people in the past decade in a southern city.

The New York-based watchdog lamented that since it released a report on April 6 on the activities of the death squad in Davao City, 990 kilometres south of Manila, that Arroyo had not spoken about the murders.

Manila  - Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo on Thursday led a tearful farewell to four close aides who died in a helicopter crash in a northern mountain range.

Four other people were killed in the crash on Tuesday in the mountains of Tinoc town in Ifugao province, 270 kilometres south of Manila.

"We mourn the death of our dear friends and colleagues, who died while serving their country," a teary-eyed Arroyo said televised statement. "I will miss them so much in my official family."

Manila  - The Philippines on Wednesday mounted search and rescue operations for a missing air force helicopter carrying senior staff of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo amid reports that the chopper could have crashed and exploded.

The Bell 412 helicopter, carrying five passengers and two pilots, was on its way to Banaue town in Ifugao province, 270 kilometres north of Manila, from the nearby mountain resort city of Baguio when it went missing Tuesday.

Manila  - Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has signed into law a bill defining the country's territorial boundaries and laying claim to disputed areas in the South China Sea, a top aide said Wednesday.

Presidential Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said Arroyo signed the Baselines Law on Tuesday despite a strong protest by China over the measure.

"We are sending the message to the whole world that we are affirming our national sovereignty," Ermita said. "We are affirming our national interest."

Manila  - Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo ordered an investigation into the killing of the daughter of a senior communist rebel leader, an official said Saturday.

Arroyo wanted the killers of Rebelyn Pitao, 20, to be immediately brought to justice, Press Secretary Cerge Remonde said.

Pitao was a daughter of Leoncio Pitao, also known as Commander Parago, of the New People's Army, the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines.

Manila - President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo left Saturday for a three-day official visit to Qatar in a bid to attract investments to boost the Philippine economy.

Arroyo was also expected to meet with executives of Middle East companies employing hundreds of thousands of Filipino workers, to seek assurances of their employment amid the global economic crisis.

She will also meet with the different Philippine ambassadors to the Middle East countries in order to assess the impact of the crisis on the Filipino migrant workers in the area.