The government of the Philippines has denied reports that it paid a ransom of millions of dollars for the release of a Filipino lorry driver who was held hostage for two weeks in Iraq.
A spokesman for President Gloria Arroyo described the reports as speculation and insisted they were untrue.
The driver, Angelo de la Cruz, is now on his way home after being dumped outside the embassy of the United Arab Emirates in Baghdad yesterday.
His kidnappers had threatened to behead him unless his country withdrew its troops from Iraq. President Arroyo acceded to the demand against the wishes of the United States and its allies.
