MANILA -- Abu Sayyaf bandits renewed their threat to kill two Red Cross hostages unless government loosens a security cordon around their southern jungle stronghold, an official said.

Senator Richard Gordon, who heads the Philippine National Red Cross (PNRC), said he spoke late Friday by cell phone with Abu Sayyaf commander Albader Parad, who wanted security forces to pull back after the bandits released Filipino Red Cross worker Mary Jean Lacaba without any ransom.

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Two other kidnapped International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) workers -- Swiss Andreas Notter and Italian Eugenio Vagni -- were last seen Thursday when Parad handed over Lacaba to Sulu Vice Governor Lady Anne Sahidullah near Jolo island's Indanan municipality.

The three were abducted last January 15 after visiting a Red Cross water sanitation project at Sulu provincial jail in Patikul town.

"I will do what I told you I will do," Gordon quoted Parad as telling him, referring to a threat made earlier in the week that the bandits would behead one of the hostages if troops did not pull back. Parad had promised he would release a hostage if his demand was met.

The government did withdraw before Tuesday's beheading deadline lapsed, but not as much as the Abu Sayyaf demanded. Troops later retook their old positions.

Pull back

Parad promised to start negotiations for the release of Notter and Vagni after the pullout of Philippine Marines, police and armed civilian volunteers, Gordon said.

He said the Abu Sayyaf bandits wanted an area to move around that's much smaller than what they had earlier demanded.

Local Government Secretary Ronaldo Puno said security forces will pull back only if it will lead to the release of the hostages.

Puno indicated the kidnappers could be seeking a ransom in releasing Lacaba but not the two others.

"Maybe they feel that there is still some hope they will get some money from the [families of the] other two hostages and not from the family of Lacaba," he said.

Press Secretary Cerge Remonde said the government is doing everything to rescue the remaining two ICRC workers, who the Abu Sayyaf bandits had threatened to kill.

He, however, refused to discuss details of the strategy. He merely asked for "prayers" and "support" from the people.

"We will leave that tactical decision to the local crisis management committee and of course to the Armed Forces of the Philippines," he said over radio interview Saturday.

The Cabinet official also refused to say if the government will adopt an "all-out war" stance once the two remaining hostages are freed.

Gordon, on the other hand, said Parad did not indicate what the militants wanted in exchange for the hostages, but that he told them the Red Cross does not pay ransom.

He said Parad sounded angry and may have taken a personal risk when he ventured outside the militant camp to get a cell phone signal to communicate.

The government is maintaining its "no ransom" policy in dealing with the hostage crisis in Mindanao, said Crisis Management Committee chief Abdusakur Tan, governor of Sulu province.

Development

Remonde, meanwhile, said the government will surely develop Mindanao to prevent further abductions.

"We are glad we have a lot of foreign partners willing to help us develop Mindanao in general and Sulu in particular," Remonde said.

The Abu Sayyaf group has beheaded hostages in the past, including an American in 2001 and seven Filipinos in 2007.

The US government has placed the Abu Sayyaf, which has about 400 fighters, on its list of terrorist organizations because of its attacks on American citizens and links to al-Qaeda. (JMR/AP/Sunnex)