Gunmen seized Mr Hipolito Minoza on Thursday on the southern island of Mindanao where he worked as a budget officer for the local state university, regional police Chief Superintendent Bensali Jabarani said.

No group has claimed responsibility for the kidnapping, but the military blamed separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) rebels.

However, MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu denied the group was behind the kidnapping.

'Why blame us for everything? This is absurd and the MILF has nothing to do with the kidnapping, we are not kidnappers, but revolutionaries', he said.

Tensions between the MILF and the government have been rising since the Supreme Court suspended a draft agreement with the rebels on August 4, prompting some of the group's commanders to launch a series of attacks in Mindanao.

The fighting has left scores of civilians dead and displaced up to half a million people. -- AFP