Troops patrol the streets of Jolo, capital of the southern Philippine province of Sulu, in this file photo. The Abu Sayyaf group beheaded a Canadian hostage in the province on April 25. (Photo by Vincent Go)
Filipinos are condoning terrorism by having failed to end years of terrorist activities in the southern Philippines, a Spanish missionary priest who has worked in Mindanao for more than 40 years said April 26.
"It is shameful. This is the work of evil people, people of no faith," said Claretian Father Angel Calvo commenting on the beheading of a Canadian hostage in southern Sulu province on April 25.
Philippine authorities confirmed the same day that the Abu Sayyaf Islamist militant group beheaded Canadian national, John Ridsdel, one of four people abducted in Davao province last Sept. 21.
The others abducted were Kjartan Sekkingstad from Norway, Robert Hall, another Canadian and Marites Flor, a Filipina.
"So many lives have been lost, including soldiers and police, but where is the enemy?" said Father Calvo, head of the interfaith group Zamboanga-Basilan Integrated Development Alliances.
"They are everywhere outside of hostage prison walls," Father Calvo said, adding that abductions for ransom have become "big business" that benefit "small and big people."
"The people of Sulu, Basilan, and Tawi Tawi [provinces], and the rest of those in power, national and local, should be ashamed that decades of kidnapping and killing is worsening," the priest said.
"The people of Sulu, Basilan, and Tawi Tawi [provinces], and the rest of those in power, national and local, should be ashamed that decades of kidnapping and killing is worsening," says Claretian Father Angel Calvo.
'Dehumanizing acts'
"No one ever deserves to die this way," said Milet Mendoza, a former Abu Sayyaf hostage in Basilan province.
"The long wait, the suffering and desperation that all captives go through, to be told each day about your execution the following day if the ransom is not paid, to be deceived and deprived of freedom, all these are dehumanizing acts that have to be condemned by all," Mendoza said.
She said Filipinos seemed to have become "numb and indifferent" to the atrocities committed by the Abu Sayyaf "because it happens too frequently."
Mendoza lamented that the kidnap for ransom issue in the southern Philippines "has not even merited discussion by people running for public office."
Abu Sayyaf has preyed on foreign and local tourists and traders in Basilan and Sulu provinces, as well as nearby areas since the 1990s.
Outrage and condemnation
"As a nation, we have to rise against this horrendous act of terrorism," said Gov. Mujiv Hataman of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.
"This incident is tragic and as peace-loving Muslims of Mindanao … we stand against this."
Bishop Ruperto Santos of Balanga, chairman of the bishops' Commission on Migrants and Itinerant People, expressed his "personal outrage over the brutal murder" of Ridsdel.
"There is no justification for his killing which must be condemned as a criminal act of the highest degree," he said.
Bishop Sergio Utleg of Tuguegarao condemned the Abu Sayyaf's use of religion "to justify their evil deeds."
"To decapitate a man because of a failed ransom negotiation is a pure criminal act and does not constitute religion," said Bishop Utleg.
The government extended its "deepest sympathies" to the family of Ridsdel and to the government and people of Canada.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau condemned the "cold-blooded murder" of Ridsdel, adding that the "responsibility rests squarely with the terrorist group who took him hostage."
Military operation
"The full force of the law will be used to bring these criminals to justice," Brig. Gen. Restituto Padilla, military spokesman, said.
Two men on a motorbike dumped Ridsdel's severed head, which was wrapped in a plastic bag, in front of the town hall in Jolo, Sulu province on the evening of April 25.
The bag landed near a group of young men playing basketball.
"There will be no let up in the determined efforts of the military and police to neutralize these lawless elements and thwart further threats to peace and security," said Padilla.
The military said Ridsdel was beheaded earlier that afternoon after authorities failed to deliver a US$6.4 million ransom demanded by the kidnappers.
In an April 15 video, the Abu Sayyaf threatened to behead one of the hostages if the ransom was not delivered by April 25.
The terrorists still have at least 18 foreign and Filipino hostages in Sulu province.