The Columban Fathers in the Philippines say they have not received any information to suggest that kidnapped Irish priest Fr Michael Sinnott is dead.

The religious order is negotiating for Fr Sinnott's release and has denied press reports that he had died.

The 79-year-old was abducted by an armed gang at his Missionary Society of Saint Columban compound in the city of Pagadian on 11 October.

The reward of 200,000 pesos (€4,240 dollars) has been offered amid growing concern for the health of the 79-year-old, who needs daily medication for heart problems.

'This is the 12th day and we do not have any contacts yet with the abductors nor do we have any word from them,' said Alan Molde, spokesman of the task force handling the abduction.

The Philippine military earlier said a pirate had kidnapped Fr Sinnott and taken him by boat to the Lanao coast east of Pagadian city.

The military said the pirate, well known for robberies and other crimes in the area, may have turned the priest over to a leader of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, a Muslim separatist group.

However, the MILF has denied any involvement in the kidnapping and there are suspicions the Abu Sayyaf, a militant Muslim group blamed for the nation's worst terrorist attacks, may be involved.

Michael Sinnott has spent about 40 years in the Philippines, first arriving in Mindanao in 1957 as a missionary.

After a stint elsewhere, he came back to the Philippines in 1976 and never left.