President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo said she was pleased with the release of two hostages who were abducted by the Abu Sayyaf from a resort in Palawan in May. "We are pleased that Lalaine Chua and Luis 'Chito' Bautista III are now free from the hell of Abu Sayyaf," said spokesperson Rigoberto Tiglao.

He expressed optimism that the crisis was nearing its end, with the help of more negotiators, most of them members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and the Moro National Liberation Front. Another hostage, Maria Fe Rosadena, the girlfriend of American hostage Guillermo Sobero, was unofficially released, sources told Gulf News.

Angie Montelagere was also unofficially released with her and both were placed under the custody of another Muslim leader. The two women were among the 20 kidnapped from Palawan. Montelagere is the sister-in-law of Raul de Guzman Recio, travel editor, who was at Dos Palmas resort doing an article on Philippines tourism.

The unofficial release of the two women hostages will complete the release of all the Filipino hostages, with the exception of the Americans, the Burnhams, taken by the group in Palawan. The Abu Sayyaf spokesman said both will be beheaded if Arroyo does not order the withdrawal of soldiers from Basilan and Sulu.

In a statement read over radio after his release, Bautista said he and Chua were freed "in the name of the government of Malaysia and their people, especially Datuk Sairin Karno and Yusuf Hamdan." William Castillo remains the sole government intermediary, Tiglao said, when asked to confirm the role of the Malaysian negotiators, including a Zamboanga-based Ping Tan, in the recent release of hostages.

On June 12, Manila initially rejected the Abu Sayyaf's 72-hour deadline requesting Karno and Hamdan as negotiators. Arroyo eventually gave in and sought assistance from Malaysian Prime Minister Mohammad Mahathir. At the same time, regional MILF spokesman Ustadz Shariff Julabbi said his group negotiated with the Abu Sayyaf for Chua and Bautista's release.

"The Abu Sayyaf handed over the hostages to Commander Usman Lidjal who in turn, handed them over to a government emissary," Jullabi said. Lidjal is one of his commanders in Basilan. Julabbi said presidential adviser for Mindanao affairs, Jesus Dureza, phoned him on Sunday and sought MILF& assistance to secure the release of Chua and Bautista.

"If Dureza did not ask for our assistance, the two & could probably be still in the hands of the Abu Sayyaf," said Jullabi, adding: "We are helping the government. Most of the Abu Sayyaf rebels are relatives of MILF members. We do not have any alliance with the Abu Sayyaf group." Reports earlier said MILF forces, under Lidjal, intercepted the hostages in Tuburan town last Saturday.

Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao Governor Nur Misuari, former MNLF chairman, said his group has been assisting the military in its assault against the Abu Sayyaf. At the same time, he complained about the Army Scout& Rangers who ambushed some MNLF members in Basilan. "Our forces were betrayed even as we tried to help the armed forces there," he said.