THE Abu Sayyaf still holds 27 captives—20 foreigners and seven Filipinos—after beheading a boat captain last week, a spokesman for the Armed Forces of the Philippines, Brig. Gen. Restituto Padilla, said Monday.
“The foreigners are Indonesians and Malaysians and a Dutchman,” Padilla said.
On April 13, Noel Besconde, captain of the seized FB Ramona, was beheaded by the group of a certain ASG sub-leader Sadjawaan in Barangay Tugas, Patikul, Sulu, military officials said.
“Mr. Besconde was murdered by his ASG captors because he was reportedly ill and impeded their movement to evade the operating units that are hunting them,” a statement released by the Western Mindanao Command said.
In Camp Aguinaldo, AFP chief Gen. Eduardo Año condemned the latest beheading.
“While the AFP condemns this gruesome murder of this hapless kidnap victim, it all the more drives our soldiers, airmen, sailors, and marines to deliver the lethal blow against this band of terrorists and rescue the remaining kidnap victims,” Año said.
“This terrorist group is all the more, by their recent barbarism, fueling the desire of the AFP to crush their beastly practice, stop their kidnap-for-ransom activities, and restore peace in Western Mindanao. We will never falter. We will not rest even a bit in our conduct of combat, intelligence, and civil-military operations to protect our people. We will exhaust all means—legal and moral—to bring this war against terrorists to conclusion,” he added.
Año has ordered the commander of the Joint Task Force Sulu to locate the remains of Besconde so that he can be brought to his family and given a proper burial.
“We continue to call on every God-fearing resident of Sulu, Basilan, and other parts of Western Mindanao to help your AFP and other security forces to put a stop to this criminal and evil act of the ASG. They have no place in our civilized society,” Año said.
Last week, more than half a dozen terrorists were killed in series of gunbattles with government forces in Inabanga, Bohol. Three soldiers and a police officer were also killed.
Terrorists who survived the battles and escaped remain at large and are being hunted by government forces.
The ASG had started to penetrate some tourist spots in the Visayas looking for kidnap-for-ransom targets. Aside Bohol, the military and police have yet to give concrete reports about the presence of ASG terrorists in Cebu and Siquijor.
The Palace on Monday offered its condolences to the family of Besconde.
“We strongly condemn this senseless and coldblooded murder committed during the Holy Week. Local authorities and our security forces are exhausting all means to locate the captain’s remains, as our troops continue to pursue this bandit group and hold them accountable for their crimes,” said Presidential Spokesman Ernesto Abella.
“We call on all citizens throughout the archipelago to remain vigilant, alert and watchful, and to cooperate with our security forces. Let us work against common criminals to make our communities safer and ensure a nation worthy of all Filipinos,” Abella said.
Besconde was one of four members of the crew of FB Ramona who were abducted by the bandit group somewhere in Celebes Sea in December 2016.
A spokesman for the Department of Foreign Affairs said Monday recent attacks by the Abu Sayyaf on a remote part of the central tourist island of Bohol would not affect the holding of trade meetings of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in the province.
Foreign Affairs spokesman Robespierre Bolivar said in a statement that the Asean meeting, which will be attended by 10-member state trade officials and Hong Kong and other representatives will push through despite the ASG attack that killed three soldiers and a policemen and six other armed men.
“We can confirm that the Asean meeting in Bohol will push through as scheduled, unless any new information dictates otherwise,” Bolivar said.
Bohol is hosting the Asean-Hong Kong Free Trade Agreement meeting on April 18 to 22 in Panglao Island.
Bolivar said all relevant international delegates have confirmed participation in the meeting in Bohol.
“The Security Committee of our National Organizing Council is continuously working to ensure the safety and security of the meeting,” Bolivar said.
Officials said that about 4,000 personnel from the Philippine National Police, the Armed Forces of the Philippines, emergency response units and various agencies will be deployed during the meetings for the Asean Summit, which is expected to draw about 200 delegates.
Bohol will be hosting several meetings for ministers, senior officials and technical working groups and these events are expected to be held throughout the year.
On April 26 to 29, Metro Manila will play host to the 30th Asean Summit, with the major event on the last day to be held at the Philippine International Convention Center.
The Philippines currently chairs the Asean Summit 2017 and it will also host the 31st Asean Summit on Nov. 10 to 14 in Clark, Pampanga.
The country’s chairmanship coincides with 50th anniversary of the 10-nation organization. With Sandy Araneta and Sara Susanne Fabunan
