Philippine Red Cross head Richard Gordon making an emotional appeal on Tuesday to Abu Sayyaf militants holding three of his workers hostage. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
MANILA: A man believed to be from Singapore is said to be acting on behalf of Islamic militants in the Philippines' 76-day Red Cross hostage crisis.
Interior Secretary Ronaldo Puno told local television that the 'Singapore' militant served as an interpreter for the Abu Sayyaf group in its negotiations with the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Manila government.
He said 'the Singaporean', whom he did not identify, could also have made contact with the relatives of a Swiss and an Italian hostage, two of three Red Cross workers abducted on the southern island of Jolo on Jan 15.
The Philippines' Red Cross head, Senator Richard Gordon, told The Straits Times last night that he first spoke to the man by mobile phone eight days after the kidnapping.
From his accent, it was not immediately clear whether he was Singaporean or Malaysian, said Mr Gordon, who spoke to the man 'three or four times'.
Read the full story in today's edition of The Straits Times.
