Philippines begins Iraq pullout
From CNN Correspondent Maria Ressa
 |  De la Cruz: "Wait for me, I'm coming back." |
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|  VIDEO |
 The Philippines begins pulling out its troops.
 Andrea Koppel on the premature pullout of troops by Manila.
 U.S.-led forces take a back seat as Iraqi troops hit the street.
 President Bush defends his decision to invade Iraq.
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(CNN) -- The Philippines is recalling the chief of its humanitarian force and 10 other personnel in Iraq as part of efforts to comply with the demands of kidnappers.
The hostage-takers originally threatened to behead Filipino Angelo de la Cruz if Manila did not pull out its 51-member humanitarian force from Iraq by July 20.
But in a tape that appeared on Arabic Al-Jazeera network on Thursday, the hostage-takers extended the deadline to the end of the month.
The force was due to leave Iraq on August 20.
The Philippines began withdrawing its force from Iraq on Thursday, and with Friday's recall, only 32 personnel will remain in Iraq.
The government said in a statement on Friday the rest will leave the country shortly.
The 46-year-old father of eight was working as a truck driver in Iraq when he was taken hostage last week.
On the tape released Thursday, de la Cruz appeared on screen, but his voice was not heard.
According to an English-language translation of the report read by an anchor, he said he believed he was being freed.
The news reader said de la Cruz had also sent a message to Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, thanking her for deciding to withdraw troops and sticking to that decision.
He also sent a message to his wife and family saying he was OK. Cruz told his family members "wait for me, I am coming back to you."
De la Cruz was not wearing the orange jumpsuit hostages frequently are seen wearing. Instead, he was wearing civilian clothing and looked like he was in good shape.
The hostage-takers have identified themselves as members of the Khaled Bin Al-Walid Squadrons, part of the Islamic Army of Iraq.
Announcement of Manila's pullout on Wednesday drew condemnation from around the world, with the United States protesting against the action, saying giving in to terrorist demands should not be an option.
The Philippines, one of Washington's biggest backers in the war on terror, had earlier vowed it would not yield to pressure to pull out early.
At a press conference Thursday, interim Iraqi Prime Minister Ayad Allawi said he had spoken to Arroyo and urged her to "reconsider" withdrawing forces because "we cannot give up to terrorism."
Two of Washington's closest allies in Asia, South Korea and Japan, have had to deal with their own hostage situations.
Both nations refused to give in to opposition at home over their contribution in Iraq and refused to give in to hostage-takers.
Seoul is still reeling from the beheading in June of a South Korean interpreter by Islamic militants in Iraq after it rejected demands to scrap its the deployment to Iraq.
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Associated Press contributed to this report.
