The Philippine government Saturday lauded the extension by Iraqi hostage-takers of execution deadline on Filipino worker Roberto "Bobby" Tarongoy.

"We thank God for this reprieve," said presidential spokesman Ignacio Bunye. "We call upon the whole nation to continue to pray for Roberto. We will continue to exert utmost effort to bring him home alive."

Philippine Foreign Affairs Department officials said that the kidnappers have agreed to grant an indefinite reprieve of execution of Tarongoy early Saturday morning after a former deadline expired.

The kidnappers were demanding that Philippine President Gloria Arroyo cut all military cooperation with the United States and pull out the estimated 6,000 Filipinos working in Iraq, many working as support staff in US military installations.

Arroyo pulled out the small Philippine contingent from the US-led forces in Iraq in July to save the life of truck driver Angeloe la Cruz, another Filipino held hostage by militants.

Tarongoy's father, Thomas Tarongoy, has appealed in a letter to Arroyo to "heed the captors' demand" to free his son by making a statement withdrawing support for US policy in Iraq.

Tarongoy, who worked for a Saudi accounting company, was taken away from his office in Baghdad in November with an American colleague.

He was shown alive on an Arab television earlier this week by the militants. The fate of the American is unknown.

The Philippine government has denied reports that it is offering a ransom of 6 million US dollars to the kidnappers in exchange for Tarongoy's release.

Xinhua