Jolo - The Philippines' chief negotiator flew to southern Jolo island yesterday for formal talks with Muslim rebels holding 21 mostly foreign hostages, as international pressure mounted on Manila to end the crisis soon.
"We're hoping that the actual negotiations will start tomorrow, that's why we are back here," the presidential adviser, Mr Roberto Aventajado, said after consultations with President Joseph Estrada in Manila. Asked what the agenda would be, Mr Aventajado said: "The release of hostages, the 21 of them." Government negotiators had earlier said their priority would be the release of a German woman suffering from hypertension.