Negotiator Named for U.S. Captive

The Philippine government said it had designated a negotiator for the release of American captive Jeffrey Schilling. Munib Estino, the vice governor of Sulu province in the southern Philippines, has been assigned to deal with the Abu Sayyaf rebels for Schilling’s release, said presidential spokesman Ricardo Puno. The announcement came as an Abu Sayyaf spokesman denied reports that his group was demanding $10 million in ransom for Schilling but said unidentified anti-U.S. groups had offered the rebels money to kill him. The rebels said Schilling had begun a hunger strike. Philippine officials have said that the 24-year-old Schilling, a Muslim from Oakland, suffers from asthma and an eye ailment and that he might have heart trouble.