Revealed! Islamic militants plan to kidnap famous star?

– Pacquiao has beefed-up security around him and members of the family

– There are reports that Abu Sayyaf militants are on the trail of the famous boxer

– The 37-year-old has lamented President Aquino’s decision to make the information public

President Benigno Aquino of Philippines has disclosed that a group of Islamic militants are planning to kidnap legendary boxer Manny Pacquiao.

Aquino in a statement on Wednesday April 27, revealed that Abu Sayyaf, a notorious kidnap-for-ransom gang that has pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group and beheaded a Canadian hostage, planned to abduct Pacquiao or his children.

Manny Pacquiao

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The retired boxer expressed shock that the president needed to have informed him secretly, before making the news public.

“I was alarmed when he announced that the Abu Sayyaf wanted to kidnap me. I’m surprised because all Filipinos are my friends. I love them, especially the Muslims,” Pacquiao stated.

The 37-year-old explained that he has taken adequate measures to protect himself and other members of the family immediately the news reached him.

“I have taking security measures to protect myself as well as his wife and five children, who are in General Santos, my home town. We added security for my family and me,” he said.

General Santos is in the conflict-wracked southern Philippine region of Mindanao, where an array of Islamic militant groups are based and a separatist insurgency has claimed tens of thousands of lives since the 1970s.

Pacquiao expressed bitterness that the president should have informed him ahead, before the making the information public.

“If it came from an intelligence report, it should have been kept secret and need not be announced. And why just now? We have to study this,” Pacquiao charged.

The famous boxer who is also the richest Filipino as a result of his remarkable feat in boxing said he had good relations with Muslims in the southern Philippines, and wondered why he should be a target.

“I don’t believe our Muslim brothers would do that,” he said. “We support them, we give them livelihood, so I don’t know where that came from.”

Pacquiao, an evangelical Christian, said he was not scared for his own safety and would continue hitting the campaign trail, where he attracts huge, chaotic crowds.

“I live my life like every day is the last, so I have no fear. God is with me,” he said.

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Presidential spokesman Herminio Coloma declined to comment directly on Pacquiao’s complaints he had not been informed about the alleged kidnapping plot before Aquino’s public announcement.

“The government has taken, and continues to take, all necessary measures to ensure the safety of our citizens and thwart acts of terror, intimidation and destabilization against them,” Coloma told AFP in a text message. 4 0 1

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