ISABELA, BasilanPresident Duterte on Thursday appealed for an end to violence,

ahead of his first address to Congress in which he said he would call for an end to
conflicts.
I dont see anything good coming out of this war. For the sake of our children, we have
to stop this war, the President told a gathering of government troops, policemen, people
displaced by conflict and local officials.
It was Mr. Dutertes first visit to a province in the Autonomous Region in Muslim
Mindanao (ARMM) since assuming the presidency on June 30.

READ: Duterte tells Mindanaoans: Time to stop the war

We have to stop this war. If we cannot stop it, this one I will repeat in my [State of the
Nation Address], do not hate more, Mr. Duterte said.
Mr. Duterte will address Congress for the first time next Monday.
Do not add to the hatred in your heart. If we cannot stop fighting, do not hate more, he
told the residents of Basilan.
I know the problem here, and I assure you that I will find a way to end the conflict
here, the President said.
Mr. Duterte arrived aboard a helicopter at the 104th Army Brigade headquarters in
Tabiawan village here in the afternoon.
Security was tight and journalists were not allowed to cover the presidential visit.
But the Inquirer got hold of an audio recording from one of the people who attended the
meeting with the President.
What war?
In his speech, Mr. Duterte did not make clear to whom he was addressing his call for an
end to the war and which war he was referring to.
The military and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) are observing a ceasefire
after the government and the largest Moro secessionist group signed a peace agreement in
2014.
I am pleading for peace, including to the Abu Sayyafthey have committed so many
crimes, killing people, Mr. Duterte said, referring to the bandit group blamed for

extortion, kidnapping of foreigners and beheading hostages whose governments refuse to

pay ransom.
Troops come here because there are people being kidnapped, killed. Its just the reaction
of the government, Mr. Duterte said.
Home of Abu Sayyaf
Basilan is known as the home of the Abu Sayyaf, which has come under heavy military
attack since the bandits beheaded two Canadian hostages earlier this year.
The bandits beheaded John Ridsdel on April 25 and Robert Hall on June 13 after they
failed to get the P600 million in ransom they had demanded from the Canadian
government.
They seized Ridsdel, Hall, Norwegian Kjartan Sekkingstad and Filipino Maritess Flor
from a marina on the resort island of Samal in Davao del Norte province in September
last year and took them to Basilan.
The bandits released Flor on June 24. They are still holding Sekkingstad, whose
execution they have suspended after Presidential Peace Adviser Jesus Dureza intervened
to make way for negotiations, according to a well-placed source.
In May, the Abu Sayyaf attacked an Indonesian vessel in the Sulu Sea and abducted 10 of
its crew members. They released the hos
Read more: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/798053/duterte-this-war-has-tostop#ixzz4F7OWoMUb
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