Philippines troop offer in Iraq

Vigils have been held for Mr de la Cruz around the Philippines

A senior Philippines official has said his troops will leave Iraq "as soon as possible", as a deadline nears for the beheading of a Filipino hostage.

Militants holding Angelo de la Cruz say they will kill him if the Philippines does not speed up a planned withdrawal.

Manila's forces are due to leave by 20 August, but the militants have demanded their departure by 20 July.

The army said it was waiting for orders following comments by Deputy Foreign Minister Rafael Seguis on Arab TV.

In remarks to al-Jazeera television, Mr Seguis said the troops would leave "swiftly, in the time it takes to carry out the necessary preparation for their return to the Philippines."

But he did not say how soon they would go.

COALITION TROOPS IN IRAQ Top contributors: US - 118,000 UK - 8,300 Italy - 2,800 Poland - 2,350 Ukraine - 1,550 The Netherlands - 1,300 Romania - 700 South Korea - 700 Japan - 500 Denmark - 400 Source: Globalsecurity.org Where are the troops?

"I hope the statement that I read will touch the heart of this group," added Mr Seguis, who is visiting Baghdad.

Foreign Secretary Delia Albert repeated the statement by her deputy, but did not clarify the timing.

"When Deputy Foreign Minister Rafael Seguis spoke this morning during his interview with al-Jazeera, he spoke with foreknowledge and full authority of the Philippine government," Albert said after an emergency foreign office meeting in Manila.

The Philippine government has not confirmed the plan.

"Let us leave the government to do what is necessary to save the life of an innocent Filipino and to uphold our nation's interest," presidential spokesman Ignacio Bunye said.

Confusion

The BBC's John McLean in Manila says Mr Seguis' statement appears to be purposely vague - intending to show the kidnappers their demand will be met, while indicating to the US they are not bowing to the demands of people regarded by both countries as terrorists.

Army spokesman Daniel Lucero told Reuters news agency they were waiting for word on whether to withdraw from Iraq earlier than scheduled.

"We have not had an order from any office regarding the pullout," he said. "We are prepared to implement our withdrawal plan."

At the weekend, Philippines President Gloria Arroyo's government said it would not give in to the militants' demands.

Angelo de la Cruz has appeared several times on al-Jazeera TV

The militants - who have appeared under a banner saying Islamic Army, Khaled bin al-Waleed corps - extended the deadline for killing Mr de la Cruz until 1900 GMT on Tuesday, the government said.

But on Monday, in a statement shown on al-Jazeera, they said the hostage was being prepared for execution.

The latest events are reported to have come as a shock to Mr de la Cruz's family, whose hopes were raised and then dashed on Saturday after false reports from Manila said he had been freed.

"I hope that what TV is reporting is true," said Beth Reyes, a sister. "We are already confused and don't want any wrong information like last Saturday."

The Philippines has only 51 soldiers in Iraq, although another 4,000 civilians are in the country, mainly working on contracts at US military bases.

Following the abduction of Mr de la Cruz last week, President Arroyo stopped any more Filipinos from going to Iraq.

It is not known exactly how many foreign workers and soldiers are being held as hostages in Iraq.

Governments and employers have sometimes been wary of releasing details to the media for fear of jeopardising negotiations with hostage-takers.