Manila - Muslim militants holding captive three staff of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) on a southern Philippine island have demanded that the military halt rescue operations, a Philippine Red Cross official said Monday.

Senator Richard Gordon, chairman of the Philippine National Red Cross, said the hostages - Swiss Andreas Notter, Italian Eugenio Vagni and Filipino Mary Jean Lacaba - relayed their captor's demand in telephone calls.

"They (the abducted ICRC staff) called up this morning and said they are okay," Gordon told a local radio station. "They said their abductors want the military to call off the pursuit operations."

Gordon said the ICRC staff also said they were unharmed.

Notter, Vagni and Lacaba were abducted on January 15 after visiting the provincial jail on Jolo island, 1,000 kilometres south of Manila, where they were working on implementing a water and sanitation project.

Police said initial investigation showed that the three ICRC staff were seized by gunmen led by a sacked jail guard, who then turned them over to al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf rebels in the jungles of Indanan town.

According to military intelligence sources, the kidnappers were led by commanders Albader Parad and Akmad Jumdail, who were planning to demand 5 million dollars in ransom for the safe release of the hostages.

The sources added that the militants were also discussing a political demand.

The Philippine military, police and local officials have refused to give official updates on the kidnapping in a bid to avoid jeopardizing rescue operations. The ICRC has also declined to comment further on the situation.

Gordon said he has not received information about a ransom demand, but noted that the Red Cross will not pay ransom for the release of the hostages.

Defence Secretary Gilberto Teodoro said it was important to follow a no-ransom policy in such kidnapping cases to discourage more abductions in the future.

"We really have to take a very, very strong stand against it once and for all so that we give a lesson to those who may be disposed to do these activities," he said.

Teodoro also appealed to residents of Jolo to help authorities put a stop to kidnappings in the area in the wake of the latest abduction, which he noted has again marred the image of the area and reputation of the residents.

"We are asking your help to recover the hostages, to rescue them from harm," he said. "We need to cooperate with law enforcement authorities, the police and the armed forces to end these kidnappings and to recover the hostages."

The al-Qaeda-linked Muslim Abu Sayyaf rebel group has been blamed for some of the worst terrorist attacks in the Philippines.

It is also notorious for high-profile kidnapping-for-ransom cases, including the abduction of 21 European tourists and Asian workers from a Malaysian resort island in 2000. The hostages were ransomed off for millions of dollars before they were freed months later. (dpa)