Philippine Red Cross wants proof hostages alive

By HRVOJE HRANJSKI,Associated Press Writer AP - Wednesday, April 1

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine Red Cross asked al-Qaida-linked militants Wednesday for proof that three aid workers held hostage were alive as troops and tanks moved closer amid threats to behead the captives.

The governor of southern Jolo island, Sakur Tan, said an informant told him the three Red Cross captives _ a Swiss, an Italian and a Filipino _ were alive Tuesday hours after the Abu Sayyaf kidnappers threatened to kill one if troops did not withdraw.

Sen. Richard Gordon, head of the Philippine Red Cross, said Wednesday he wanted proof from the Abu Sayyaf that the hostages were unharmed.

"I want to talk to the three. It is a measure to rebuild confidence," he said in a radio interview.

Security officials said a last-ditch attempt by two Muslim lawmakers to negotiate the release of the hostages faltered Tuesday after Tan, alarmed by the deadline to behead a hostage, declared a state of emergency in the predominantly Muslim province.

The declaration included a curfew, roadblocks and redeployment of government forces near the Abu Sayyaf camp in Indanan township, only a week after they pulled out in hopes the hostages might be freed.

The latest developments prompted the kidnappers to delay their threat to harm the hostages, the two security officials told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.

Tanks and truckloads of marines rolled out of a Jolo camp toward Indanan to try to surround the gunmen in a hilly jungle, Tan said. He refused to say if a military rescue was imminent.

"We'll make sure that these bandits cannot kidnap again," Tan said.

Interior Secretary Ronaldo Puno earlier rejected a militant demand for the government to vacate 15 Jolo villages in addition to loosening a security cordon around them. He said such a move would leave the island's civilian population exposed to militant attacks.

The hostages _ Filipino Mary Jean Lacaba, Swiss Andreas Notter and Italian Eugenio Vagni _ were seized Jan. 15 after inspecting a water project for the Jolo prison.

The Abu Sayyaf group has beheaded hostages in the past, including an American in 2001 as well as seven Filipinos in 2007.

The U.S. government has placed the Abu Sayyaf, which has about 400 gunmen, on its list of terrorist organizations.

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Associated Press writers Jim Gomez, Teresa Cerojano and Oliver Teves contributed to this report.