Malacañang ‘saddened but resolved’ after discovery of beheaded German’s body

Coroners at a funeral house look at a body containing the remains of German hostage Jurgen Kantner in Jolo, Sulu province, on the southern island of Mindanao on March 5, 2017.
AFP PHOTO

Malacañang on Sunday reiterated the government’s commitment to address terrorism in the country following the discovery of the remains of beheaded German hostage Jurgen Kantner in Sulu.

“The Philippine government is deeply saddened but resolved as ever to respond to the recent discovery of the body of Mr. Jurgen Kantner, a German national, in the interiors of Talibang, Barangay Buanza, Indanan, Sulu,” Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella said in a statement.

“President Duterte has declared time and again that terrorism is the twin scourge of narco-politics, and that this government will leave no stone unturned in squarely addressing the evils of extremism and plain banditry,” Abella added.

Kantner’s body and severed head were found in Sitio Talibang at around 5:45 p.m. on Saturday by government security forces, the military said.

The remains were recovered “between the vicinity of the camps of two leaders of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF),”according to Prof.

Octavio Dinampo, a professor of the Mindanao State University in Sulu.

The Abu Sayyaf earlier threatened to kill the 70-year-old Kantner on the afternoon of Feb. 26 if they would not be paid a ransom of P30 million.

Kantner was abducted in November last year while his yacht was cruising in waters off Sulu. The yacht was found drifting with the body of his female companion, Sabine Merz.

Kantner and Merz had previously been kidnapped in Somalia in 2008.

President Duterte earlier apologized to the German government for Kantner’s beheading.