A state of emergency was imposed on the Philippine island of Jolo where the deadline set by Abu Sayyaf militants to behead one of the three Red Cross hostages expired early Tuesday afternoon, a top military official confirmed.

Lt. Col. Edgard Arevalo, a military spokesman based in Sulu, announced that Sulu Governor Abdusakur Tan, chair of the hostage crisis committee, declared the state of emergency in Sulu at about 2:15 p.m. local time (0615 GMT).

Arevalo slammed the Abu Sayyaf's beheading threat as a terrorist act that deserves to be punished.

"This dastardly act as well as other kidnapping cases perpetrated by the group, if not properly addressed, may inspire and embolden other lawless elements in the province to commit similar acts of terrorism," said Arevalo, citing the proclamation issued by the Sulu government.

Under the declaration, soldiers, policemen and armed civilian volunteers in Sulu are ordered to set up checkpoints in the province and start the general searching of the hostages and their kidnappers, while the curfew is also imposed.

Security forces are also told to conduct necessary actions or operations to ensure public safety.

In a last minute effort, Tan asked the Abu Sayyaf militants to reconsider its threat to behead one of the three International Committee of the Red Cross workers held in captive in the hinterland of Jolo.

Swiss national Andreas Notter, 38, Italian Eugenio Vagni, 62, and Filipina Mary Jean Lacaba, 37 were snatched at gun point on Jan. 15 after carrying out a humanitarian mission in Sulu.

Abu Sayyaf originally said one of the hostages would be beheaded if government troops failed to withdraw from most areas of the island of Jolo by 2 p.m. local time (0060 GMT). It is not immediately known if the execution had been carried out.

Abu Sayyaf militants have ignored appeals made by various sources, including Pope Benedict XVI and ICRC President Jakob Kellenberger, urging for the release of the Red Cross workers.

The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), the country's largest Muslim rebel group, has also called on the Abu Sayyaf to free the three aid workers, saying that they are innocent people on humanitarian missions to help the needy, the wounded in Muslim Mindanao.

(Xinhua News Agency March 31, 2009)