Aquino: Abus plotted to kidnap Manny, Kris
President Aquino on Wednesday disclosed alleged Abu Sayyaf plots to kidnap world boxing champion Manny Pacquiao and the President’s sister, Kris, a popular television personality.
Mr. Aquino disclosed the plots in an 800-word statement released by Malacañang two days after the bandits beheaded a Canadian hostage, John Ridsdel, whom they seized together with two other Westerners and a Filipino woman from a beach resort in Davao del Norte province seven months ago.
Ridsdel was beheaded on Monday after a ransom deadline passed. His severed head was found in a yellow sack near a police station at Barangay Walled City in Jolo on the same day.
“This murder was meant to terrorize our whole population. The Abu Sayyaf thought they could instill fear in us. Instead, they have galvanized us even further to ensure justice is meted out,” Mr. Aquino said.
He vowed to use the “full might of the state” to smash the Abu Sayyaf, which he said had committed “atrocity after atrocity” since its inception in the 1990s as an affiliate of the al-Qaida terrorist organization.
Other hostages
The Abu Sayyaf, whose leaders have pledged allegiance to the Islamic State (IS) group in Syria and Iraq, is holding more than 20 other foreigners.
The hostages include Canadian Robert Hall, Norwegian Kjartan Sekkingstad and Filipino Maritess Flor, whom the bandits seized along with Ridsdel on the resort island of Samal in September last year.
Mr. Aquino divulged the extent of the national security threat posed by the Abu Sayyaf, including bombings in Metro Manila and assassinating him to attract the attention of the IS group and “gain access to the funds and resources” of the jihadi group that has seized large areas of Syria and Iraq.
The plots, Mr. Aquino said, included kidnapping Pacquiao and Kris Aquino, and behind the plots are Abu Sayyaf commander Isnilon Hapilon and subcommander Furuji Indama.
Mr. Aquino said Hapilon, through his cohorts in prison, planned to recruit inmates of New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa City “to their cause and establish ties with remnants of the Rajah Sulayman Movement” and launch bombings in Metro Manila.
The President said the Abu Sayyaf had been trying to establish an IS cell in the Philippines, but the bandits’ efforts had been thwarted by government forces.
‘Put to bed’
The President said the threat to his life had been investigated, and he assured the public that key leaders involved in the plots had been arrested and those threats had been “put to bed.”
But he said Hapilon was on Basilan Island, the other key Abu Sayyaf stronghold neighboring Jolo, and that military assaults against him were continuing.
Indama is believed to be also on Basilan, where 18 government soldiers were killed in a clash with the Abu Sayyaf on April 9.
Mr. Aquino has yet to speak with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, but he has sent a letter of condolences to the family of Ridsdel.
Foreign Secretary Jose Almendras said President Aquino learned about the killing of Ridsdel ahead of Trudeau, but the government did not announce it to honor the family’s request to be informed first before breaking the news to newspapers.
Friends, family members and relatives raised P20 million for Ridsdel’s release, but the Abu Sayyaf refused, insisting on their ransom demand of P300 million.
The bandits are demanding the same ransom for Hall, Sekkingstad and Flor.
Body found
Meanwhile, the headless body of a male Caucasian was found in a dry creek in Talipao, Sulu, on Wednesday, and authorities were trying to determine if it was Ridsdel.
The Army commander in Sulu was replaced after the killing of Ridsdel.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, the Armed Forces of the Philippines announced the appointment of Col. Jose Faustino Jr. as the replacement of Brig. Gen. Allan Arrojado.
Arrojado resigned on Tuesday night. In his letter to Maj. Gen. Lysander Suerte, commander of the 5th Infantry Division, Arrojado said he was resigning because of “conflict of approach” in dealing with the Abu Sayyaf threat in Sulu. With reports from Jaymee T. Gamil and Estrella Torres in Manila; Julie S. Alipala, Jeoffrey Maitem and Nash Maulana, Inquirer Mindanao; and AFP
