Iraqi militants reportedly ruled out any possibility for the Philippine government to pay ransom for the release of a Filipino hostage, an official from the Department of Foreign Affairs said Monday.

The official said on condition of anonymity that the Iraqi militants conveyed the message through al-Jazeera TV station over the weekend.

"The captors are committed to their cause and said they cannot be bought," the TV told Philippine officials in Baghdad.

The Philippine government earlier said that it would be "open to all options" to negotiate for the release of kidnapped Angelo de la Cruz, a 46-year-old trunk driver working in Iraq for a Saudi-based company.

The hostage's relatives appealed to President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to withdraw troops from Iraq to save their kin from execution, while the government maintained that it would abide by its international commitment to end their tour of duty on August 20.

However, the Iraqi militants Monday gave the Philippine government a new deadline to pledge to pull out its troops in Iraq before July 20 in 24 hours for the release of de la Cruz, who was seized by three masked gunmen on July 8 when traveling in Fallujah.

The militants, calling themselves the members of the "Khaled Ibn al-Walid Brigade" linked to the "Islamic Army in Iraq," threatened to kill the hostage if the Philippine government will not pull its troops out of Iraq in a demanded time.