MAGUINDANAO, Philippines — The police in Sulu have recovered the remains of a Vietnamese boat captain whom the Abu Sayyaf kidnapped last year.
Pham Minh Tuan, captain of MV Royal 16, and five others were abducted on November 11, 2016 while sailing near Sibago Island, about six nautical miles off Lamitan City in Basilan.
Chief Superintendent Graciano Mijares of the Police Regional Office-Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao said on Saturday that Tuan’s remains were exhumed Friday in Sitio Kasulutan in seaside Barangay Bus-Bus in Jolo.
"The operation that resulted in the recovery of his remains was an initiative of the Sulu provincial police, the Joint Task Force Sulu and the Mindanao field unit of the Anti-Kidnapping Group,” Mijares said.
Tuan was reportedly executed by his captors, led by Idang Susukan, in the middle of an encounter with the Army’s 41st Infantry Battalion in Barangay Upper Binuang in Talipao town in Sulu on September 7.
"Possibly his cadaver was buried somewhere in Jolo, the capital of Sulu, to mislead authorities," Mijares said.
Local officials in Basilan on Saturday said the Abu Sayyaf first held Tuan captive in the province, but transferred him to Sulu due to pressure from armed villagers helping the police and military fight the Islamic State-inspired group.
"They must have thought they can get a big ransom in exchange for the release of the boat captain," one of the sources, a town mayor known for his hostility to the Abu Sayyaf, told The STAR.
Mijares said Tuan's remains will be flown to Manila and turned over to the Vietnamese Embassy.