Abu hostages beg Duterte to save them

The foreigners taken  by the Abu Sayyaf off Samal Island last year asked presumptive President-elect Rodrigo Duterte to save them from beheading on June 13.

In the latest video uploaded on the Internet by the bandit group, the two foreigners made the appeal to Duterte, as their governments seemed to have abandoned them to their fate.

A Filipino woman was also taken by the Abu Sayyaf along with the foreigners.

Canadian Robert Hall asked the tough-talking Davao City mayor to work for their release, “the sooner, the better” as they were “three-quarters dead.”

“I’m going to address my remarks to you (Duterte). I’d appreciate it if you can do what you can to get us out of here,” an emaciated Hall said, adding that the Canadian government had apparently left him to his fate.

The video, uploaded on May 22, was the latest in a series of videos by the Abu Sayyaf demanding P300 million each for the release of the two foreigners.

The spokesperson of the Armed Forces of the Philippines had no comment on the video.

“We will issue a statement (later), as we prefer to work on this. Hopefully, we will get results soon once a decisive engagement has been made in the area,” said Brig. Gen. Restituto Padilla.

AFP public affairs office chief Col. Noel Detoyato said the video could be taken as an update on the status of the victims.

“The AFP’s operations will continue and we will not stop until … normalcy is restored. We will not stop until they (victims) are rescued and the kidnappers are brought to justice,” Detoyato said.

Detoyato said the military would never negotiate with the suspects or pay the ransom as it would only embolden the bandits to carry out more kidnappings.

“We will endeavor to make this kidnapping business unprofitable to them (suspects),” he said.

In the past, the military would appeal to the public not to share  videos of the Abu Sayyaf beheading or threatening hostages, as it would only dignify the terrorist group’s actions.

The AFP has repeatedly assured the public that it is doing all it can to rescue the hostages, through continuing focused military operations in Western Mindanao that started last year.