Suspected Abu Sayyaf militants have freed three abducted aid workers in the southern Philippines after the government withheld antipoverty funds, prompting an impoverished town to pressure the rebels to release the captives, officials said Wednesday. More than 4 million families across the Philippines have received cash under a government program that requires the "poorest of the poor" to get regular medical check-ups and ensure their children attend school classes in exchange for financial aid. The Abu Sayyaf, which has about 300 armed fighters split into several factions, was organized in the early 1990s in the south and vowed to wage jihad, or holy war, but the early combat deaths of its key commanders sent the group on a path of criminality.