THE three Red Cross workers kidnapped by Muslim terrorists in Mindanao last month are safe and are being treated well, one of the hostages said in a report published yesterday.

?We are fine,? Andreas Notter of Switzerland told a newspaper in a telephone interview.

?They treat us fine, but my colleagues suffered severe diarrhea,? Notter said, adding that his fellow captives were now ?in good condition? after their office sent medication.

He made the statement even as the military said it was willing to provide security to anyone who would be tapped to negotiate for the hostages? safe release.

?We need all the help we need to solve this crisis,? Armed Forces spokesman Ernesto Torres Jr. said.

?We could provide the necessary security to anybody who would like to help out.?

Notter, 38, was kidnapped on Jan. 15 along with Italian Eugenio Vagni, 62, and Filipina Mary-Jean Lacaba, 37, while on a humanitarian mission in Jolo for the International Committee of the Red Cross.

He said all three were being held together, and were allowed to regularly call their families and colleagues.

?All our families know how we are doing,? Notter said, stressing that they had no idea what their abductors wanted in exchange for their freedom.

The newspaper report said that Abu Sayyaf commander Albader Parad, whose unit is holding the three, was demanding that Vice President Noli de Castro and diplomats from the hostages? countries negotiate for their release.

No ransom demand was mentioned, although previous Abu Sayyaf abductions involved large sums of money.

Lacaba said she spoke with her husband on Sunday.

?We eat whatever they [the captors] eat,? she said.

?What we?re hoping for is for someone to help us,? she said.

?All we know is that no one is negotiating for us.?

Red Cross head of operations for Asia, Allan Aeschlimann, in a statement Tuesday confirmed that medicines and other supplies were sent to the three over the weekend.

The Red Cross, he said, was in close contact with Philippine authorities who are trying to determine the authenticity of the demands by the gunmen.

Aeschlimann said described the abduction ?as a very delicate situation? and stressed caution so as not to compromise the safety of the hostages.

The Abu Sayyaf is blamed for the country?s worst terrorist attacks, and has killed hostages in the past including two US nationals kidnapped from a Philippine beach resort in 2001.

Known to receive funding from Al Qaeda in the late 1990s, the group has since resorted to kidnappings and other criminal activities to fund their armed campaign. AFP with Jaime Pilapil