By Luke Hunt
Law and order continues to be a problem in the country’s south.
As Philippine president Benigno Aquino III begins to pack his bags for retirement and considers his legacy, one outstanding issue remains unresolved: a lasting solution to the civil conflict and the law and order mess it has created in the country’s troubled south.
The latest kidnapping of three foreigners and a Filipina by the Abu Sayyaf, a militant Islamist group, was a case in point.
Two Japanese tourists had bravely attempted to the thwart the kidnappings, according to reports. They did not succeed and police believe Canadians John Ridsel, 68, and Robert Hall, 50, and Norwegian Kjartan Sekkingstad, 56, were targeted as opposed to being taken at random.
The Filipina, identified as Teresita Flor, 40, was understood to be the partner of one of the Canadians. They were abducted late Monday from the Holiday Oceanview Samal resort on Samal Island, which was managed by Sekkingstad.
Abductions have become commonplace over the past 15-plus years, ever since Abu Sayyaf leader Galib Andang, also known as Commander Robot – yes, that was his realnom du guerre – ordered the kidnapping of foreign tourists from the deluded safety of holiday resorts in nearby East Malaysia.
Read the full story at The Diplomat