Palace: Gov’t firm on ‘no-ransom’ policy amid Abu Sayyaf threats

Malacañang on Friday maintained the government’s policy of not paying ransom for the release of hostages despite the threat by the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) to execute a Malaysian and two Indonesians who were abducted in Mindanao.

Palace spokesman Salvador Panelo expressed confidence in the capability of government forces to rescue the captives of the terrorist group.

“Standing firm on no ransom policy. The government forces will hunt them in the wild forest of Mindanao,” Panelo told The Manila Times in a text message.

Panelo made the statement after Abu Sayyaf terrorists posted a video online threatening to execute their captives.

The ASG, the kidnapping and terror group that has pledged allegiance to the Islamic State, even spoke in Bahasa Malaysia in the video clip, which showed the Indonesian hostages — believed to be Heri Ardiansyah, 19, and Hariadin, 45 — being guarded by gunmen.

The Malaysian hostage, Jari Abdulla, 24, was not with the duo.

The captives, their eyes covered with black cloth and hands tied behind their backs, made an emotional appeal for their governments to save them. One militant held a bolo on the neck of Hariadin as he spoke to the camera.

The hostages were kidnapped at sea off Sandakan in Sabah on December 5, 2018.

The militants are believed to be holding nearly a dozen captives, mostly foreigners.

On Wednesday, President Rodrigo Duterte urged Indonesia and Malaysia to join forces with the Philippines in combating crime on the high seas.