Abductors behead school principal in Sulu

(Updated 3:22 p.m.) A month after his abduction, a Mindanao elementary school principal was beheaded by alleged members of the al-Qaeda linked Abu Sayyaf bandits and his head was left at a gas station in Sulu province early Monday, a ranking military official said. Armed Forces Western Mindanao Command chief Maj. Gen. Benjamin Dolorfino said the head of Gabriel Canizares was placed in a sack that was left at the gas station. Canizares was the principal of the Kanague Elementary School in Patikul town. "Nakita ang ulo sa may isang gas station kaninang umaga mga 5 a.m. Nakalagay ito sa sako. It was confirmed later by his relatives (The head inside a sack was left at a gas station at about 5 a.m. Later on, Canizares' relatives identified the head)," Dolorfino said in an interview on dzRH radio. Information from the Wesmincom said the head was left at a Caltex gasoline station in Jolo town in Sulu province. Armed Forces Chief Gen. Victor Ibrado condemned the act as “dastardly and inhuman," while Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. said the incident showed the great need for the people in Sulu in combating terrorism. Ibrado added legal actions against the perpetrators are being prepared. Wesmincom spokesman Maj. David Hontiveros said the crisis management committee that held negotiations for Canizares’ release had shifted to pursuit operations and punitive actions. It added that the joint military and police team coordinating with the crisis management committee working for the release of Canizares will now shift to punitive action. Dolorfino affirmed the planned action, saying that the beheading would prompt the military to continue coordinating with police to get the schoolteacher's abductors. "We have been tracking the victim. We have joint (efforts with the police and have), been tracking the victim and the kidnappers," he said. Last October 19, armed men believed to be members of the al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf seized Canizares in Patikul town in Sulu province. Initial investigation showed Canizares and other teachers were on a passenger jeep bound for Jolo when 12 suspected Abu Sayyaf bandits stopped the vehicle and seized him. [See: School principal abducted in Sulu] The Abu Sayyaf then demanded a P2-million ransom for his release but it was not paid. - GMANews.TV