Day gift mother philippine

MANILA, April 5 Kyodo

Philippine Muslim bandits on Thursday postponed killing an American held hostage since August.

In a local radio interview in the southern Philippine city of Zamboanga, Abu Sayyaf group leader Abu Sabaya said the beheading of Jeffrey Schilling, an American tourist, has been postponed.

''Mrs. Schilling is in the Philippines so the execution is suspended,'' Sabaya told a local radio, referring to Schilling's mother who flew into town early Thursday.

The bandit leader urged Schilling's mother to try to convince government authorities to pull out soldiers sent to hunt them down and to end its all-out war policy against the Abu Sayyaf bandits.

Sabaya threatened anew to behead Schilling at 5 p.m. Thursday and offer his head as a gift to President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo who is celebrating her 54th birthday. Sabaya was angered by Arroyo's all-out war order against them.

The U.S. Embassy in Manila said in a statement said it welcomes the news that the 25-year-old Schilling has been spared.

''This was the right decision. We urge his prompt release so he can go home with his mother and be with his family,'' the statement said.

Schilling, who lives in Oakland, California, arrived in Manila on March 8 last year as a tourist, but without a visa. He was initially granted a 21-day visa, a privilege normally given to American tourists.

Schilling has extended his stay in the Philippines at least four times since his arrival, Philippine immigration records showed. They also showed that Schilling's latest extension made his stay in the Philippine valid until Sept. 8 last year.

Schilling stated in his visa extension application that his purpose in coming to the Philippines was to visit his Filipina fiancee, Ivy Osani, who lives in Zamboanga city.

The Abu Sayyaf grabbed the headlines last year when it held hostage European and Filipino hostages in the jungles of Jolo.

Abu Sayyaf is a small and ruthless Muslim group that styles itself a pro-independence movement similar to the bigger Muslim secessionist Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). It is based on the island of Basilan, not far from Jolo.

Its members include renegades from the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), a much larger Muslim group that made peace with the government in 1996. The military said Abu Sayyaf members also include common criminals who operate on the southern Philippine islands.

But the military tagged the group as bandits who carry out kidnap-for-ransom and bombings in the southern Philippines under the guise of political action. They have also earned a reputation for killing captives if their ransom demands are not met.