Eight Filipino hostages, along with three South Koreans, were released Tuesday by the Nigerian kidnappers, said Filipino government officials. The hostages, employees of Daewoo Engineering and Construction Co, were kidnapped last week from a construction site in Port Harcourt.

Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita, a senior aide of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, said the eight Filipinos would be repatriated to Manila Friday.

"They are all in good physical health," he said.

The hostages were released unharmed, and turned over to their employer. Ermita said the release was the result of "close coordination between the Philippine and Nigerian governments and the Daewoo company." He said no ransom was paid, although the kidnappers demanded 1 million dollars and up to 10 million dollars for the hostages.

"The practice has always been that we do not negotiate, we do not pay ransom money," he said. "We let the company who contracted the services do the negotiations."

In January, the Philippine government imposed a partial ban on the deployment of workers to Nigeria after 24 Filipino seamen were abducted. The hostages were freed unharmed about one month later.