The Abu Sayyaf group has been holding missing TV journalist, Arlene de la Cruz, in southern Philippines, according to a senior official, even as it was reported that she had carried a $1 million (P50 million) ransom payment for the release of two American hostages and a Filipina nurse.

The official added that de la Cruz and the hostage takers are fighting over the $20,000 payment of American network CBS for the video clip on American hostages Martin and Gracia Burnham.

Scout Rangers found a note from Abu Sayyaf leader Aldam Tilao also known as Abu Sabaya, which said the latter was upset with de la Cruz, said Captain Harold Cabunoc, chief of the 10th Scout Ranger Company.

"I received the information from agents of Capt. Rommel Pagayon, who are operating in Maluso town," Cabunoc said.

"Accordingly, they got mad because of the footage she got last November," said Cabunoc.

Hinting that the Abu Sayyaf group wanted a cut from the CBS payment, Cabunoc said: "The outlaws were not given their share of a reported $20,000 that she allegedly received from CBS."

De la Cruz was not involved in the business transaction, according to a Net 25 source.

"If she got anything, it was a bonus from her boss for her good work," added the source.

De la Cruz also appeared in the CBS newsmagazine, '48 Hours', hosted by Dan Rather. Her footage and interview with the Burnhams first appeared on Net 25 on November 26, 2001. The following day, the Inquirer ran an account of her interview, which was picked up by the foreign news agencies.

Sources said CBS bought a copy of the footage on the Burnhams directly from Net 25, the TV network of the non-Catholic Church of Christ (Iglesia) where de la Cruz is a news producer of the evening newscast.

Although Net 25 was swamped with requests from other foreign TV networks, the local network chose CBS News after it agreed to air the interview in its entirety.

Southern Command spokesperson, Col. Danilo Servando, said it was impossible for de la Cruz to have been abducted by the Abu Sayyaf.

According to the Armed Forces of Philippines spokesperson, Brig. Gen. Edilberto Adan, some sectors within the military think de la Cruz could just be on one of her "operations" and not kidnapped.

"For all intents and purposes, she is a missing person. There are some who said that she was being held by the MRG (Misuari Renegade Group)," Brig. Gen. Adan noted.

Meanwhile, the Basilan Crisis Management (BCM) said de la Cruz reportedly carried a $1 million (P50 million) ransom payment for the release of the two American hostages, as well as Filipina nurse, Deborah Yap.

Earlier, the Basilan Crisis Management said the ransom payment was only $10,000 (P 5 million).

"We have yet to receive information confirming that she was kidnapped by the forces loyal to former Autonomous Region for Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) governor, Nur Misuari," noted the armed forces spokesperson.

There have been many versions of the reported fate of de la Cruz.

"She was planning to go underground or lie low for a while. That was what she told me when we were together in Basilan in January," said Filipino CBS cameraman, Rolly Malicsi.

"She did not explain what she meant, but I thought she was doing a major story of the Abu Sayyaf," Malicsi told Gulf News.

The Scout Rangers admitted they wanted to monitor the movements of de la Cruz because she might lead them to the hostages of the Abu Sayyaf.

De la Cruz had access to the Abu Sayyaf and could walk in any time, Supt. Bensali Jabarani, provincial police chief, said in a report that reached Manila. She was also the first journalist to interview the mostly foreign hostages of the group who were abducted in Sipadan, Malaysia.

De la Cruz is known to have had a long association with the Khaddafy Janjalani faction of the Abu Sayyaf. Defence Secretary Angelo Reyes has ordered the military to search for her.

De la Cruz was last seen in Sumagdang village, Isabela City, on January 19, along with Ellen Tayser, a CBS woman reporter from Hong Kong, including a Filipina companion carrying a laptop and a Filipino cameraman (Malicsi).