Fourteen "high-risk" criminals escaped from a city jail in the southern Philippines, a jail official said Friday.

The detainees escaped from the Cotabato City jail, 930 kilometres south of Manila, late Thursday by overpowering the jail guards, according to city jail warden Inspector Panga Arab.

Arab said the escapees were facing murder, drug trafficking, robbery and illegal possession of firearms cases, dpa reports.

"These are high-risk and high-profile criminals and the public is warned against them," he said.

Senior Superintendent Willie Dangane, Cotabato City's police chief, said he has organized a task force to hunt the detainees and urged the public to help if they have information on them.