Police and election officials in the Philippines are moving to toughen enforcement of a ban on guns in public places in the run-up to May 14 legislative elections as Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, the president, urges collective action "directed at reducing violence".

Mrs Macapagal raised the alarm on poll-related violence after at least 11 people were shot and killed last Friday in clashes across the country in what a leading Manila newspaper called the "deadliest day" since the campaign began in January.