''To the Australian embassy … this is your constituent appealing for his life and safety. Please help facilitate to give the group the demand. Yes, I was a former army soldier of my country but it is different, particularly the terrain. The only solution to ensure my safety is to go with whatever they need. ''If I'm given my last wish, my last wish is to please help me out of here alive, please Madame Ambassador.'' The Age has also obtained four photographs of Mr Rodwell sent to his wife, Miraflor Gutang, 27, as proof that he was alive. They show 53-year-old Mr Rodwell with an open, infected wound on his right hand while his left hand is in a metal handcuff. They were taken on December 12, a week after he was dragged screaming from his house on the restive southern Philippine island of Mindanao. The video appears to have been made in the same location and at about the same time.

Mr Rodwell's condition since December 12 is unknown. The wound may have been from a gunshot fired when Mr Rodwell struggled with four men posing as policemen who abducted him. At the time, Philippine authorities said they believed Mr Rodwell had been shot in the foot. In the photographs, Mr Rodwell, from Sydney, is standing in front of what appears to be a blue tent strung up in the jungle. He is wearing a sweatshirt over a black T-shirt and black shorts. In one photograph Mr Rodwell has both his hands raised to his chest. In another he is wearing a sling to support his wounded tattooed arm. He is bearded and appears to be giving a slightly forced smile, possibly on the orders of his captors. It is unlikely Mr Rodwell is receiving any medical treatment on Basilan, where he is being held by Puruji Indama, a commander of the al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf group who is notorious for beheading Christians.

The photographs and video have previously been suppressed under a news blackout on the kidnapping imposed by Philippine authorities at the request of Australia. They were leaked to The Age by security officials. The kidnappers sent the photographs along with a demand for an initial ransom of 1 million Philippine pesos - about $A22,600 - to establish a channel of communication with Mr Rodwell's family. Mr Rodwell's video plea revealed the kidnappers' demand for an additional U$2 million. Ms Gutang, who is in protective custody, has pleaded with the kidnappers to release her husband but says she does not have the money. The kidnappers have years of experience in the lucrative kidnap-for-ransom business in the southern Philippines and appear to be following the same strategy as they have in the past to exhort huge ransoms for the release of foreigners and rich Filipinos. Sending proof of life and a video in which the victim pleads for their life is usually the kidnapper's first contact with family members. The group has killed victims in the past if ransoms were not paid, sometimes by beheadings.

Philippine authorities say Mr Rodwell was kidnapped by a local criminal gang which handed him over to the Abu Sayyaf, probably for money or some favour. Earlier, police suspected that Barahama Ali, a senior commander of the separatist Islamic group Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), was behind the kidnapping. Loading The group, which is holding peace talks with the Philippine government, has strongly denied any involvement and says it will help rescue Mr Rodwell if Philippine and Australian officials ask for its assistance. The Philippine government and the MILF forged an agreement in 2004 that paved the way for rebel forces to help authorities hunt down terrorists and criminal elements in areas where the MILF operates.