MANILA - PHILIPPINE police fatally shot eight suspected robbers north of Manila in a second deadly shootout this month, officials said on Monday, raising questions over their heavy-handed tactics.

Acting on a tip, police were following the suspects on Sunday when they broke into a wealthy businessman's house in northern Tarlac province, triggering a clash that killed two men, said Chief Superintendent Leon Nilo de la Cruz.

Six others escaped on two motorcycles and a van but were stopped at a roadblock in the next province of Nueva Ecija, where Chief Inspector Arnold Palomo said 'they were cornered and they fired at us and we fired back.' All six were killed, he said.

There were no casualties among police, he said.

Mr de la Cruz said the suspects were armed with .38-calibre revolvers and belonged to notorious robbery gangs that have been raiding the houses of wealthy residents in provinces north of Manila.

National police chief Jesus Verzosa commended the officers on the operation and ordered them to 'crush criminal gangs without letup.'

At least 16 people, including 12 suspects, were killed in a similar shootout with police in Manila on Dec 5. Three passers-by also were killed, prompting an investigation by the government's Commission on Human Rights amid complaints that police had overreacted.

Police spokesman Nicanor Bartolome has denied any foul play.

Police have been accused in the past of killing suspects and planting evidence but no one among officers has been convicted. -- AP