COLLEEN MCEDWARDS, WORLD NEWS: We want to return you now to our stop story - the hostage situation in the Philippines. We're joined now on the telephone by the Philippine defense secretary, Orlando Mercado. Minister Mercado, tell us, please, have negotiations begun at this point?</s>ORLANDO MERCADO, PHILIPPINE DEFENSE SECRETARY: Not yet because as far as we're concerned, we're still validating a lot of information. Although the governor of the island province of Sulu, Governor Abdusakur Tan, indeed confirmed the presence of the hostages in</s>MCEDWARDS: Is this the group that we sometimes call the Abu Sayyaf group?</s>MERCADO: Well, yes and no. Actually, some of them are part of the Abu Sayyaf. Some of them are former MMLF members. Some are just plain members of a gang that has been engaged in kidnap-for-ransom activities. In fact, the personalities involved were also those involved in a kidnap-for-ransom incident in 1998 involving Hong Kong nationals.</s>MCEDWARDS: What are the demands that are being made this time?</s>MERCADO: What demands?</s>MCEDWARDS: Yes.</s>MERCADO: Well, now, we don't have specific demands here, although there have been feelers (ph) that have been validated, various groups. I think when we settle down, we will be able to get our lines of communication ongoing, I think we'll have a clearer picture of what</s>MCEDWARDS: All right. Philippine defense secretary Orlando Mercado, thanks very much for that. END TO ORDER VIDEOTAPES AND TRANSCRIPTS OF CNN INTERNATIONAL PROGRAMMING, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE THE SECURE ONLINE ORDER FROM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
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