MANILA - President Gloria Arroyo is concerned at the suffering of Filipino illegals held at detention centers while awaiting deportation from Malaysia, her spokesman said today.

She is "very concerned, especially when she saw that tape," spokesman Ignacio Bunye said on local radio, referring to television footage of the holding centers in the Malaysian state of Sabah.

In the footage, at least one woman was seen weeping over her dead child.

Arroyo "is personally doing something about it," Bunye said, adding her actions would be revealed later.

Manila is pressing Kuala Lumpur for better treatment of hundreds of Filipinos awaiting deportation, but is trying to head off calls for a confrontation over the issue, officials said.

The Philippines' anger boiled over into the streets today, when a small number of protesters scuffled with security guards and Malaysian embassy personnel.

About 20 leftist activists chanted "Filipino deportees have human rights too," and tried to force their way into the narrow embassy gate.

Riot police later forced the protesters farther away from the embassy.

Envoy summoned

Foreign department spokesman Victoriano Lecaros said all sides should "transcend finger-pointing and just concentrate at least for the moment in getting our people home."

He said both governments should ensure that the illegals "should be treated properly, that they are accorded medical attention when they need it and they are given food as a matter of routine."

Philippine legislators and the press have expressed anger over reports of alleged mistreatment of Filipinos who are being deported from Malaysia to the southern Philippines as part of a crackdown on illegal immigrants.

Philippine Foreign Secretary Blas Ople summoned the Malaysian envoy yesterday to express concern over the alleged mistreatment which allegedly led to the deaths of several Filipino infants.

But some congressmen are calling for stronger action, including talks between President Arroyo and Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad.

Lecaros said Manila was taking a "calibrated response," to the issue.

He said that if the Malaysians were detaining people, "I think it becomes incumbent upon (them) to supply their daily needs."

Malaysia introduced strict laws against illegals on August 1, with a mandatory six months in jail and up to six strokes of the cane for those convicted.

Since February, about 64,000 Filipinos have left Sabah and about 4,000 others are awaiting deportation, officials in Manila said.

Up to half-a-million Filipinos live in Sabah. — AFP