MANILA, Dec. 21 -- All police units in Camarines Sur and nearby provinces were placed on alert and ordered to intensify security operations against communist rebels after last week's landmine blast that killed two soldiers and wounded three others.

Aside from assisting the local military forces in pursuit operations, acting Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Lt. Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. said police probers are now conducting an investigation and preparing appropriate charges against those involved.

"We extend our deepest condolences to the family of the two soldiers who lost their lives as a result of this attack," he said in a statement Sunday.

"We in the PNP know how it feels because we also lost personnel in the anti-insu...