September 16 - 30, 2016
PHILIPPINE ASIAN NEWS TODAY
out bombings, assassinations and
kidnappings for ransom, often ending
in murder.
Duterte said recently that 50
million pesos ($1.1 million) had
been paid to Abu Sayyaf as ransom
for Sekkingstad. Subsequently, the
president said that the group wanted
even more money. He didn’t elaborate
on the source of the payments or how
they were made.
Sekkingstad
was
released
September 17 in Jolo, the capital of
Sulu, a predominantly Muslim and
impoverished island south of Manila,
but had to stay there overnight because
of bad weather. He was expected to fly
to Manila later on September 18. It
was unclear if and when he will return
to Norway.
Military spokesman Brig. Gen.
Restituto Padilla said that three
Indonesian fishermen who had been
kidnapped recently by Abu Sayyaf
were released September 18. He
said he was “unaware if any ransom
has been paid.” The Indonesians
were flown to the military’s regional
command center in western Mindanao
island and handed over to Indonesian
authorities.
Abu Sayyaf is believed to still hold
11 foreigners and six Filipinos captive,
the military said. The group is believed
to have about 400 members.
Norwegian Prime Minister Erna
Solberg welcomed the release of
Sekkingstad and thanked Duterte
and presidential peace adviser Jose
Dureza, who negotiated the release,
for working to free him.
“This has been a challenging case,
and has put an indescribable strain on
Mr. Sekkingstad himself and his family
and friends,” Solberg said September
18. “The violence committed against
innocent people by the Abu Sayyaf
terrorist organization can only be met
by our condemnation and disgust.”
Abu Sayyaf has come under
recent pressure from the Philippine
armed forces as Duterte ordered a
new offensive against them. The group
responded with a deadly bomb attack
September 2 in Davao City that killed
15 people and injured dozens more.
Sekkingstad was handed over by
his Abu Sayyaf captors to rebels from
the larger Moro National Liberation
Front, which has signed a peace
deal with the Philippine government
and helped negotiate his release. On
September 18, he was handed over to
Philippine authorities, along with three
Indonesian fishermen freed separately
by the Abu Sayyaf.
Sekkingstad said he survived
more than a dozen clashes between
Philippine forces and his captors in the
lush jungles of Sulu province.
Sekkingstad was kidnapped from
a yacht club he helped managed on
southern Samal Island on September
21, 2015, along with Canadians
Ridsdel and Hall and Hall’s Filipino
girlfriend, Marites Flor.
Ridsdel was beheaded in April,
and Hall was decapitated in June after
ransom deadlines lapsed. When Flor
was freed in June, she recounted in
horror how the militants rejoiced while
watching the beheadings.
A5
Canadians Robert Hall (left) and John Ridsdel (centre) were beheaded earlier
this year. The third hostage, Norwegian Kjartan Sekkingstad, was free