Philippine National Red Cross Appeal

In times of calamity, the Philippine National Red Cross is one of the organizations most heavily relied on to render aid and assistance to those in need. Red Cross personnel are often the first on the scene of a disaster and among the last to leave. This includes their permanent, professional, staff, and volunteers who give up their free time and resources to pitch in.

Wherever you may be, there’s probably a Red Cross chapter near you. Disasters, besides inspiring feelings of pity and horror, also leave many people feeling frustrated and helpless. This is a good time to send a donation to your local Red Cross chapter, or perhaps you can call them up and find out how you can help, if you’d like to help. Red Cross chapters around the world help each other; a disaster in the Visayas leads to calls for help immediately answered not only by Red Cross chapters in Manila, Cebu, and Davao, but by Red Cross organizations in the region and throughout the world.

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.

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.

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.