Hector Janjalani, the older brother of Khadafy Janjalani who heads the Abu Sayyaf Group in the southern Philippines, refused to enter a plea during his arraignment in suburban Pasig trial court, for charges of abduction.

This prompted Pasig trial judge Leili Asebo to enter a "not-guilty' plea on Janjalani's behalf. Janjalani's lawyers attempted to stop the arraignment when the court read the charges. Janjalani was arrested in Manila, after he and his associate were seen selling video tapes showing American Jeffrey Schilling who was kidnapped by the Abu Sayyaf Group in Jolo in August last year.

At that time, there was no photo of Schilling showing he was abducted by the Abu Sayyaf Group, because of the news blackout policy imposed by the Armed Forces of the Philippines on media men covering the event.

Adds Raffy Jimenez from Manila: There are attempts by the Al Qaida terrorist network to revive its cells in the Philippines following the recent arrest of three foreigners tagged as members of an international extremist group in the country, said a senior military official who asked for anonymity.

The intelligence community is also closely watching a group of Indian nationals who are also suspected to be plotting to stage terrorist attacks in the country, the same source said.

"They (the Indian group) are very active but we are monitoring them. Because of our liberal immigration laws, many suspected terrorists have entered the country," the official said.