P-Noy vows full force of the law vs Sayyaf

MANILA, Philippines – The full force of the law awaits terrorists belonging to the Abu Sayyaf who beheaded a Canadian they kidnapped more than seven months ago, Malacañang said yesterday.

President Aquino ordered the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) to neutralize the terrorists who beheaded John Ridsdel, a 68-year-old retired mining executive who was among four hostages kidnapped by the bandits on Sept. 21 last year from the Holiday Ocean View resort on Samal Island in Davao del Norte.

Seized with him were fellow Canadian Robert Hall, Norwegian Kjartan Sekkingstad and Filipina Maritess Flor. The bandits are also keeping 14 Indonesian and four Malaysian hostages either in Sulu or Basilan.

“There will be no let-up in the resolute efforts of the joint PNP-AFP task group in pursuing intensive and wide-ranging military and law enforcement operations to neutralize these lawless elements and thwart further threats to peace and security,” Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said in a statement.

“We extend our deepest sympathy and condolences to the Canadian government and to the family of Mr. John Ridsdel who died in the hands of the ASG bandits,” Coloma added.

In a statement, the Department of Foreign Affairs said it “strongly condemns this cruel and inhuman act perpetrated by the Abu Sayyaf group” and reiterates its “strong resolve to oppose terrorism in all of its forms.”

The Abu Sayyaf had initially demanded P1-billion ransom for each of the hostages. The amount was reduced to P300 million with the terrorists demanding the delivery of the money or one of the hostages would be beheaded on April 25 at 3 p.m.

Reports said two men on a motorcycle dropped Ridsdel’s head – placed inside a plastic bag – outside the municipal hall of Jolo town, five hours after the ransom deadline lapsed. His body has yet to be recovered.

The group which carried out the beheading was reportedly led by Ben Tatoh Sawadjaan and a certain Mujer.

Aquino on Monday ordered acting AFP chief Lt. Gen. Glorioso Miranda and PNP chief Director General Ricardo Marquez to conduct appropriate military and law enforcement operations to rescue the four hostages.

The President also instructed local authorities to cooperate with the AFP-PNP task force to ensure the safety of citizens in affected communities. 

In Zamboanga City, Maj. Filemon Tan Jr., spokesman for Western Mindanao Command (Westmincom), said operations against the bandits have been going on even before Ridsdel’s beheading.

Tan said the troops encountered the terrorists last Sunday in Patikul town, leaving many of the bandits either killed or wounded. He said deaths on the enemy side reached 13 since Sunday. “Our forces continued to press the assault on the ground,” he said.

He said the 3rd Air Division based in Zamboanga City was providing air support for the ground operations.

The Naval Forces Western Mindanao (NFWM) also placed two attack helicopters on standby in Jolo. Tan said there was no immediate report of casualty on the side of government forces.

In its assault, the military said it also has to consider the safety of the hostages still in the hands of the bandits.

AFP Public Affairs Office chief Col. Noel Detoyato said the military has launched artillery strikes on known Abu Sayyaf strongholds in Patikul and Talipao area, specifically around Mt. Simumaan.

“Military and police operations are ongoing as we speak and there are combat support units now at the disposal of the ground commanders,” Detoyato said.

An earlier attempt by the military to rescue the hostages failed when troops sent to secure the coast of Tipo-Tipo in Basilan in preparation for the operation ran into an ambush in Barangay Baguindan.

“We have lost more than a dozen of our fine soldiers for these rescue operations but this will not stop us from pursuing these bandits, to free all the hostages and justice is served to our fallen colleagues,” a senior grade military officer said.

“We strongly condemn this brutal act by this barbaric extortionist group. This further strengthens our resolve for the continuous operations until all the remaining hostages are rescued and they are neutralized,” the Department of National Defense said in a statement.

Details sketchy

The circumstances behind the beheading of Ridsdel remained sketchy as of press time, with PNP’s Marquez stressing all he could say with certainty was that the Canadian died at the hands of his captors.

“Details are very, very tactical… we just like to make this statement. One of the victims died in the hands of ASG,” Marquez told reporters at Camp Crame. “Please bear with us,  these are very sensitive issues, we would not like to speak of those details,” he added.

“The full force of the law will be used to bring these criminals to justice,” Marquez said.

Interior Secretary Mel Senen Sarmiento, for his part, urged the public “not to be terrorized by this gruesome incident.”  

“We are deeply saddened to learn of the death of Ridsdel who had been held captive and confirmed killed by Abu Sayyaf militants. It is unfortunate that this had to happen despite our efforts to negotiate for his release along with his fellow captives,” he said.

Sarmiento said the PNP is continuously working with the AFP and LGUs in securing the remaining captives of the terror group.

“I join our entire nation and the people of Canada in praying for Ridsdel. May his sacrifice inspire us even more to strive harder to defeat these barbaric zealots and finally let peace take its place in Mindanao,” he added.

More outrage

In Negros Occidental, Liberal Party (LP) presidential bet Manuel Roxas II also condemned Ridsdel’s beheading and urged the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) to help in efforts to neutralize the terror group.

“I call on our partners in the peace process, the MNLF and the MILF. It’s an opportunity for you to show that you are one with decent and peace-loving Filipinos that such heinous crime has no place in our country,” Roxas said in a press conference.

“There is no point to this. There is no space for this. We must all join together regardless of our goals, political philosophies, concerns and advocacies. There is no room for the brutality that we have seen exercised by the Abu Sayyaf,” he added.

“Terrorism is bullying in its worst form. What’s the sense of killing someone who cannot fight back just to make a point? You won’t get anything from it,” the LP standard bearer said.

“It does not make you strong. It does not further your cause. It only leads to fear and subjugation, which we know is your true purpose. And we will not be cowed by that,” he added.

He said the modernization of the police and the military should continue while the government launches an “all-out development” effort in Mindanao.

Presidential candidate Sen. Grace Poe and her runningmate Sen. Francis Escudero also condemned the killing as they urged authorities to tap the expertise of the country’s foreign allies in rescuing the hostages and in eliminating the bandit group.

“Whatever help our allies can offer – especially in intelligence – we should readily accept,” she said in Filipino. The senator said security forces should make sure operations against the terrorists are confined to areas where the latter are holed up to avoid loss of innocent lives.

She emphasized an “all-out development” of Mindanao is ultimately the key to peace in the region.

“This act of a terrorist group has no place in a civilized Philippines. We condemn each and all acts of terrorism and violence,” Escudero said for his part.

“Terrorism and violence are always unacceptable. We are one in supporting all government efforts in ensuring that these terrorists and lawless elements face the bar of justice. Senseless crimes must not happen at all cost,” he added.

“The Philippines is and will continue to be a welcoming and hospitable destination to all of those who would want to visit us despite the tragedy that fell on Mr. Ridsdel,” he added.

“We understand that agencies of the Philippine government are doing their best to bring to justice all those responsible for this abominable act,” Escudero said.

Vice President Jejomar Binay said Ridsdel’s killers were “bandits – not rebels – and should be dealt with immediately and decisively.”

Binay said “we should address the lingering problem of poverty, which has nurtured unrest, disunity and criminality, especially in Mindanao.”

For Senate President Pro-Tempore Ralph Recto, wiping out the Abu Sayyaf should be the “Artikulo Uno” of the next president. He was referring to a line lifted from a film on the life of Gen. Antonio Luna.

“Their barbarity actually lands them among Asia’s most brutal. We have a regional obligation to stamp them out and wipe clean this blot on our national image,” he said.

“There is no justification for his killing, which must be condemned as a criminal act of the highest degree,” said Bataan Bishop Ruperto Santos, chair of the CBCP-Episcopal Commission on Migrants and Itinerant People. – With Jaime Laude, Christina Mendez, Roel Pareño, Cecille Suerte Felipe, Helen Flores, Marvin Sy, Alexis Romero, Pia Lee Brago, Evelyn Macairan