A fellow Canadian, a Norwegian and a Filipino woman who were kidnapped with Ridsdel from a southern marina in September are still being held by the militants, along with about 20 other foreign hostages.
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Asked about nations that do give money to kidnappers, Trudeau said he had discussed the matter with British Prime Minister David Cameron and both nations were convinced the practice was wrong.
Trudeau identified the victim as John Ridsdel of Calgary, Alberta and said his government will work with the government of the Philippines and global partners to pursue those responsible for this “heinous act”.
MANILA, Philippines (AP) – Philippine police forensic experts were checking if a headless body of a Caucasian man found by villagers in a southern province is that of a Canadian hostage beheaded this week by Muslim extremists, officials said Wednesday.
According to Philippines police, a plastic bag containing Ridsdel’s decapitated head was dumped in a street Monday night by two men on a motorcycle in Jolo, a town in Sulu province.
Six weeks after the abduction, gunmen from the Abu Sayyaf militant group released a video on social media of their hostages held in a jungle setting, demanding the equivalent of $21 million each for the safe release of the three foreigners.
The fate of the other hostages, including Canadian Robert Hall, was not known.
The Philippine president has said Abu Sayyaf militants accused of beheading a Canadian hostage may have plotted to kill him and kidnap boxing star Manny Pacquiao.
Trudeau said if Canada paid ransoms it would put at risk all Canadians who traveled or lived overseas.
He stressed that Canada “will not pay a ransom” and vowed to work with their allies in the Philippines “to bring these criminals to justice”.
While the Philippines rarely publicises payments of ransom, it is widely believed no captives are released without them.
Ridsdel’s family said in a statement that his life being “cut tragically short by this senseless act of violence despite us doing everything within our power to bring him home” had devastated them.
Aquino said Sahiron had consolidated his forces around himself and the captives in Sulu, a small Muslim-populated archipelago about 1,000 kilometres from Manila.
Rae, the former interim Liberal Party leader, said that “right up to the Prime Minister of Canada, every senior Canadian minister and public official has been involved on a regular basis in assessing how to deal with this crisis and the decisions that have been made have been very hard ones”.
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While under pressure to produce results, government troops have been ordered to carry out assaults without endangering the remaining hostages, including in the use of airstrikes and artillery fire, a combat officer told The Associated Press by cellphone from Sulu.
