THE Abu Sayyaf group threatened to execute their 70-year-old German captive Jurgen Kantner if authorities fail to deliver the P30-million ransom they are demanding by Feb. 26.
But the Armed Forces of the Philippines is strongly discouraging the payment of ransom as videos of Kantner urging his government to pay the ransom spread over the Internet.
Payment of the ransom will further embolden the terrorists and give them more funds to buy the loyalty of the communities they are hiding in, said AFP public affairs office chief Col. Edgard Arevalo on Tuesday.
In the same vein, he said the government does not pay ransom or negotiate with terrorists.
Arevalo stressed the military will exert all efforts to rescue Kantner from his ASG captors.
“We will exert all efforts to rescue him [Kantner], especially that we now have continuing operation against the ASG which has been yielding good outcomes, so we are still positive that we will be able to rescue him,” he added.
Kantner was kidnapped by the ASG bandits while his yacht “Rockall” was cruising off Sulu waters last November. His companion, 56-year-old Sabine Mertz, was killed by the bandits.
Last year, the ASG make good of their threat after they beheaded two Canadian captives—Robert Hall and John Ridsdel—over the failure of the victims’ families to come up with the ransom.
In the latest video footage still being validated by the Armed Forces of the Philippines, the heavily armed bandits who had sworn allegiance to Daesh, presented Kantner at an undisclosed safe house somewhere in Mindanao.
“We are still validating this. We must first examine this video because I for one have not seen it,” Arevalo said.
In the said footage, Kantner was shown in kneeling position with a bolo near his head, appealing in German to his family and his government to save him.
Arevalo said the military will continue to exert efforts to rescue Kantner, saying that rescue operations are continuing against the bandits are yielding positive results.
“Our position has been consistent. We discourage payment of ransom because we believe that payment of ransom activities will only embolden them, will continue to capacitate them and they can even buy the loyalty of the community,” Arevalo said.
Reports said the bandits are still holding 27 local and foreign hostages in the island provinces of Sulu and Basilan.
