Rody threatens to eat executioners of Vietnamese sailors

MANILA, Philippines -  President Duterte has threatened to eat alive the Islamist militants behind the kidnapping and beheading of two Vietnamese sailors in Basilan.

Duterte condemned the beheading, saying such barbaric acts are not condoned under his administration.

The remains of Hoang Thong and Hoang Va Hai, who were kidnapped along with four other crewmembers of a Vietnamese cargo ship in November, were recovered in a remote village in Sumisip, Basilan on Wednesday.

Vietnam’s foreign ministry condemned the killing and called for justice.

Le Thi Thu Hang, spokesperson for the ministry of foreign affairs, said the Vietnamese government has requested the Philippines to verify the reported beheading of their two citizens.

The military blamed the killings on the Abu Sayyaf bandit group, which is known to behead its hostages unless ransom payments are made.

Faced with a crisis in Marawi, the President addressed the terrorists for taunting his administration.

“What are you really trying to prove? And you say you have a god? You take the name of Allah in vain,” he said in a speech during the 64th Araw ng Hagonoy celebration in Davao del Sur on Wednesday.

“I will eat your liver if you want me to. Give me salt and vinegar and I will eat it in front of you,” Duterte said. “I eat everything. I am not picky. I eat even what cannot be swallowed.”

Last September, the President also vowed to eat the bandits alive following a bomb attack in his home city of Davao, which killed 15 persons.

Holding up a mobile phone with a photo of the slain Vietnamese sailors, Duterte angrily cursed the militants. “Will we allow ourselves to be enslaved by these people? P***na.”

He expressed concern that the beheading might strain Philippines-Vietnam ties, saying he needed to explain this to Vietnamese officials.

Last year, Duterte ordered the release of Vietnamese fishermen caught poaching in Philippine waters as a sign of goodwill.

“They thanked me for that and now we have another problem,” he said.

The President said Vietnam had raised concern about a series of high-sea kidnappings blamed on the Abu Sayyaf when he visited Hanoi last year.

Meanwhile, authorities yesterday brought to Zamboanga City the remains of the Vietnamese sailors for forensic examination and turnover to Vietnam embassy officials.

Capt. Jo-Ann Petinglay, spokesperson for the Western Mindanao Command, said authorities have to ensure the decapitated heads of the victims match with their bodies, which were found lying along the roadside. 

Basilan Gov. Hajimin Saliman-Hataman condoled with the families of the victims and the Vietnamese people.

Hataman said the incident would not deter efforts of the local government and the police and military in crushing the Abu Sayyaf bandits and make them pay for their crime.  – Christina Mendez, AFP, Pia Lee-Brago, Roel Pareño