Kidnapped school principal beheaded in Sulu
PhilStar.com
A school principal abducted recently by suspected Abu Sayyaf members in Sulu province was killed and beheaded by his captors, a military spokesman disclosed today.
The severed head of Gabriel Canizares, 36, was discovered near a gas station in downtown Jolo, Sulu, around 5:30 a.m. today (Nov. 9), according to Army spokesman Lt. Col. Romeo Brawner Jr.
Brawner said Canizares' beheading might be a retaliation of a recent capture of an Abu Sayyaff leader involved in the beheading of Marines in 2006.
"There has been a demand for ransom but there had been several threats on his (Canizares) life he was kidnapped," Brawner added.
Around 12 heavily armed men abducted Canizares, a principal of the elementary school in Brgy. Kanague, Patikul town, around 4:20 p.m. last Oct. 19 at Kilometer 7 in Barangay Tanum.
The victim was on his way to Jolo on board a passenger jeep together with other teachers when he was forcibly taken by the bandits.
"He was really pinpointed by the kidnappers because he was the only one taken," Brawner noted.
Meanwhile, the militants, notorious for bombings, ransom kidnappings and beheadings, were reportedly demanding a ransom of P2 million ($42,000) for his release.
The Abu Sayyaf, which is suspected of receiving funds from al-Qaida, is believed to have about 400 fighters on Jolo and nearby Basilan Island. The group has been sheltering militants from the larger Southeast Asian terrorist group Jemaah Islamiyah, the military says.
President Arroyo today ordered the military and police to put an end to the Abu Sayyaf's "heinous and inhumane atrocities," her spokeswoman Lorelei Fajardo said.
"We shall make them pay for the enormity of this savagery," Fajardo said.
Despite years of U.S. military training and assistance, Filipino troops have struggled to contain the militants, who have recently intensified attacks on Jolo, blowing up bridges, firing mortar shells and setting off roadside bombs.
A Sept. 29 land mine explosion under a military convoy carrying American troops killed two U.S. Army Special Forces soldiers — the first U.S. military deaths in the southern Philippines in seven years.
About 600 U.S. troops are currently stationed in the south for training and humanitarian missions, but are barred by Philippine law from engaging in direct combat.
Education Secretary Jesli Lapus expressed shock at the teacher's killing, saying six other teachers who had been kidnapped by the Abu Sayyaf earlier this year had all been released despite threats to behead them.
He said his department was at a loss how to ensure security for public schoolteachers in high-risk areas and feared that the kidnappings would discourage others from teaching underprivileged youths in Muslim areas.
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Kamong mga Muslim nga nagpuyo diha sa Mindanao wala ba mo pul-e nga permi nalang dunay pagpa-ngidnap ug pagpang-lunggo ug ulo nga mahitabo diha sa inyong lugar? O tingale naanad nalang mo nianang klaseha sa krimen? Mura man gud ug ming kaging na nang inyong mga kasing-kasing sa inyong walay pagpakitag paningkamot nga mapahamtangan ug hustisya ug mahatagan ug kasulbaran ang mga kaso sa mga pagpamunggot ug ulo diha sa inyong lugar.
Kamong mga kadagkuan diha sa Mindanao, wala na ba lang gyud mo'y mahimo batok nianang mga walay puangod nga mga Abu Sayyaf? Kamong mga tarong nga mga pangulo sa mga nagkalain-laing hugpong sa mga Muslim diha sa Mindanao, unsa may inyong ikatabang alang sa kasulbaran niining suliran mahitungod sa mga kriminal nga grupong Abu Sayyaf? Kung gusto mo ug kalinaw sa inyong lugar, pwes, ipakita ninyo nga aduna mo'y mabuhat sa pagsumpo sa mga dautang binuhatan sa mga Abu Sayyaf ug sa uban pang mga grupo diha sa inyong lugar nga nagmugna niining mga pagpa-ngidnap ug pagpa-mutol ug ulo sa mga inosenteng mga biktima.
Ngadto sa mga MILF ug sa uban pang grupong mga Muslim: kung sa karon pa lang gani wa mo'y igong katakos nga tinuuray mosumpo niining mga buhat nga krimen sa grupong Abu Sayyaf, unsa'y rason nga makatoo ang tibook nasod nga Pilipinhon nga kaya ninyong mohawid ug gahom alang sa pagdumala sa inyong kaugalingong teritoryo?
The severed head of Gabriel Canizares, 36, was discovered near a gas station in downtown Jolo, Sulu, around 5:30 a.m. today (Nov. 9), according to Army spokesman Lt. Col. Romeo Brawner Jr.
Brawner said Canizares' beheading might be a retaliation of a recent capture of an Abu Sayyaff leader involved in the beheading of Marines in 2006.
"There has been a demand for ransom but there had been several threats on his (Canizares) life he was kidnapped," Brawner added.
Around 12 heavily armed men abducted Canizares, a principal of the elementary school in Brgy. Kanague, Patikul town, around 4:20 p.m. last Oct. 19 at Kilometer 7 in Barangay Tanum.
The victim was on his way to Jolo on board a passenger jeep together with other teachers when he was forcibly taken by the bandits.
"He was really pinpointed by the kidnappers because he was the only one taken," Brawner noted.
Meanwhile, the militants, notorious for bombings, ransom kidnappings and beheadings, were reportedly demanding a ransom of P2 million ($42,000) for his release.
The Abu Sayyaf, which is suspected of receiving funds from al-Qaida, is believed to have about 400 fighters on Jolo and nearby Basilan Island. The group has been sheltering militants from the larger Southeast Asian terrorist group Jemaah Islamiyah, the military says.
President Arroyo today ordered the military and police to put an end to the Abu Sayyaf's "heinous and inhumane atrocities," her spokeswoman Lorelei Fajardo said.
"We shall make them pay for the enormity of this savagery," Fajardo said.
Despite years of U.S. military training and assistance, Filipino troops have struggled to contain the militants, who have recently intensified attacks on Jolo, blowing up bridges, firing mortar shells and setting off roadside bombs.
A Sept. 29 land mine explosion under a military convoy carrying American troops killed two U.S. Army Special Forces soldiers — the first U.S. military deaths in the southern Philippines in seven years.
About 600 U.S. troops are currently stationed in the south for training and humanitarian missions, but are barred by Philippine law from engaging in direct combat.
Education Secretary Jesli Lapus expressed shock at the teacher's killing, saying six other teachers who had been kidnapped by the Abu Sayyaf earlier this year had all been released despite threats to behead them.
He said his department was at a loss how to ensure security for public schoolteachers in high-risk areas and feared that the kidnappings would discourage others from teaching underprivileged youths in Muslim areas.
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Kamong mga Muslim nga nagpuyo diha sa Mindanao wala ba mo pul-e nga permi nalang dunay pagpa-ngidnap ug pagpang-lunggo ug ulo nga mahitabo diha sa inyong lugar? O tingale naanad nalang mo nianang klaseha sa krimen? Mura man gud ug ming kaging na nang inyong mga kasing-kasing sa inyong walay pagpakitag paningkamot nga mapahamtangan ug hustisya ug mahatagan ug kasulbaran ang mga kaso sa mga pagpamunggot ug ulo diha sa inyong lugar.
Kamong mga kadagkuan diha sa Mindanao, wala na ba lang gyud mo'y mahimo batok nianang mga walay puangod nga mga Abu Sayyaf? Kamong mga tarong nga mga pangulo sa mga nagkalain-laing hugpong sa mga Muslim diha sa Mindanao, unsa may inyong ikatabang alang sa kasulbaran niining suliran mahitungod sa mga kriminal nga grupong Abu Sayyaf? Kung gusto mo ug kalinaw sa inyong lugar, pwes, ipakita ninyo nga aduna mo'y mabuhat sa pagsumpo sa mga dautang binuhatan sa mga Abu Sayyaf ug sa uban pang mga grupo diha sa inyong lugar nga nagmugna niining mga pagpa-ngidnap ug pagpa-mutol ug ulo sa mga inosenteng mga biktima.
Ngadto sa mga MILF ug sa uban pang grupong mga Muslim: kung sa karon pa lang gani wa mo'y igong katakos nga tinuuray mosumpo niining mga buhat nga krimen sa grupong Abu Sayyaf, unsa'y rason nga makatoo ang tibook nasod nga Pilipinhon nga kaya ninyong mohawid ug gahom alang sa pagdumala sa inyong kaugalingong teritoryo?
