RP appeals to Swiss, Italian govts against paying ransom

(Updated 10: 50 p.m.) MANILA, Philippines - Malacañang on Monday appealed to the Swiss and Italian governments to refrain from paying ransom to seek the release of their nationals abducted last week in southern Philippines. As this developed, the three kidnapped Red Cross workers made a fourth call to their colleagues Monday, saying they were together and in good health but their abductors want the military to stop pursuing them, officials said. Some 1,000 Marines and police have been searching the jungles of southern Jolo island for the three hostages. Deputy presidential spokesperson Lorelei Fajardo said the two foreign governments should coordinate their efforts with the Philippines and leave the negotiations to the concerned authorities. "We will definitely appeal to them to cooperate and to coordinate with our officials here in the land because we know better how to deal with the abductors," Fajardo said, adding that the Philippine government will maintain its no-ransom policy in this latest abduction. Fajardo assured the families of the three victims - Swiss Andreas Notter, Italian Eugenio Vagni, and Filipino Mary Jean Lacaba, all workers from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) – that they are closely monitoring the developments on the ground. The three were snatched last week in Sulu province while on their way to the airport after an activity at the Sulu provincial jail. On Sunday, Jolo provincial police chief Senior Superintendent Julasirim Kasim said police have identified at least three suspects in the kidnapping. While he did not name the suspects, he said they turned over the victims to Abu Sayyaf gunmen in the jungles near Indanan town. The Abu Sayyaf has been implicated in several kidnappings in the past, including the abduction of an ABS-CBN television crew and a Mindanao professor in June last year. In Manila, Fajardo said the authorities are doing all they can to secure the safe release of the three ICRC volunteers, adding that everyone should also respect the news blackout imposed by the military on the kidnapping "to avoid compromising the ongoing rescue mission." "We just continue to monitor what's going on through the Armed Forces and other assets on the ground. The President's instruction is to ensure the safety of the victims," she said. The abductors had assured the safety of the three and demanded authorities to stop pursuit operations so that negotiations for the release of the captives could be started. A $5 million demand was also reportedly made by their abductors, but authorities said they have no information on the ransom demand yet. Over the weekend, Red Cross spokeswoman Anna Nelson said the three kidnapped workers told their colleagues over the telephone that they were unharmed. Troops told to back off Sen. Richard Gordon, chairman of the Philippine National Red Cross, said the hostages telephoned the ICRC delegation head in Manila on Monday morning and relayed a request from their abductors to stop the military pursuit. "There is still no demand from the kidnappers," he added. ICRC spokeswoman Anna Nelson confirmed the phone call, saying to the best of their knowledge "they are still together and they tell us they are in good health." Nelson said the latest call was the fourth from the aid workers, who have telephoned daily since Friday to say they were in good health and not harmed. She also said that the hostages have not been able to speak with their families but that the ICRC was in close contact with their kin. "For us the priority really is that they say they are in good health and that's extremely important," Nelson added. Thursday's abduction was the most high-profile kidnapping of foreigners since 2000, when Abu Sayyaf gunmen snatched 21 people, mostly European tourists, from a Malaysian resort then brought them to Jolo. All were freed in exchange for millions of dollars in ransom reportedly financed by Libya. Abu Sayyaf, which is notorious for kidnappings for ransom, bombings and beheadings, is on a U.S. list of terrorist organizations because of its links to al-Qaeda. - GMANews.TV/AP