Philippines offers reward for arresting Abu Sayyaf suspect

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte offered Wednesday 1 million peso (20,160 U.S. dollars) reward for the arrest of each member of the Abu Sayyaf Group who escaped from the security cordon in the central Philippine Bohol province.

"(The bandits) may be scouring the safety nets where they are landing, I have 1 million peso offer per person," Duterte said during an interview in Bohol.

"My order to the police and to all, and even civilian who have interest to fight and kill, my order is dead or alive," said the president.

The bandits and the government forces broke out a clash early this month in Bohol, leaving six Abu Sayyaf members dead, including the sub-leader Abu Rami. Four government security forces were also killed in the firefight.

Duterte said the civilians could give information about the whereabouts of the bandits to the police and the military.

The local media said Duterte flew to Bohol to attend a security briefing for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit. Some ASEAN 2017 events will be held in Bohol this week.

The Abu Sayyaf, founded in the early 1990s, has been engaged in high-profile kidnappings of local and foreign nationals. The bandits behead their victims if they fail to pay ransom. A Filipino boat captain was the latest victim of beheading, which took place on April 13 in southern province of Sulu, the terrorists' stronghold. Endit