Severed head found in Jolo as AFP yet to confirm execution of Canadian hostage

A severed head was found in Jolo, Sulu following reports of the execution of a Canadian hostage by the Abu Sayyaf on Monday.

A report by Jun Veneracion on GMA News TV's "State of the Nation with Jessica Soho" said that the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) had retrieved the severed head and brought it back to their camp.

The remains have yet to be identified.

Earlier, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in a statement that he had reason to believe that Canadian citizen Robert Hall was executed by the Abu Sayyaf as the deadline for the P300 million ransom lapsed Monday afternoon.

"It is with deep sadness that I have reason to believe that a Canadian citizen, Robert Hall, held hostage in the Philippines since September 21, 2015, has been killed by his captors," Trudeau had said.

But AFP Western Mindanao Command (WesMinCom) spokesperson Major Filemon Tan refused to confirm the execution Monday night, saying that they needed to be very sure of all the information they had gathered.

“This is because buhay po ng tao ang pinag-uusapan natin. And it will be unfair to the family kapag nagkamali po  tayo. So, we have to be very sure na tama po ang ating maibibigay na impormasyon,” Tan explained.

The WesMinCom spokesperson added the value of erring on the side of caution before issuing statements about the execution.

“The Prime Minister says that they have reason to believe, on our part, ma’am, we should be sure bago po tayo magbigay ng statement po na talagang pinugutan po o [na-behead] itong is Robert Hall,” Tan said.

He also maintained that the AFP follows the government's no ransom policy in dealing with Islamic militants. — Trisha Macas/DVM, GMA News