Filipino boxing icon and Christian pastor Manny Pacquiao was shocked when Philippine President Benigno Aquino III announced on Wednesday that Abu Sayyaf militants were planning to kidnap him and his children.
Pacquiao, who is running for senator in the Philippine general election on May 9 this year, said he was not aware of any such plot, pointing out that he is in good terms with his "Muslim brothers."
"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 told InterAksyon.
"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 said he is not scared for his own safety and would continue to join campaign rallies. "I live my life like every day is the last so I have no fear. God is with me," he said. But just to be sure, Pacquiao said he has boosted his own personal security detail and that of his family.
Aquino earlier announced that government authorities had uncovered plots by the radical Islamist Abu Sayyaf Group to kidnap Pacquiao and his children. Aquino also revealed that the heavily armed kidnap for ransom gang also targeted his sister, Kris, who is a local showbiz celebrity, and her children. On Friday, Kris confirmed that she had been warned of such a threat in February, which prompted her to leave her television show.
Pacquiao put Aquino to task for revealing the Abu Sayyaf's kidnap plot, saying that he should have kept the information to himself. "If it came from an intelligence report, it should have been kept secret and need not be announced," Pacquiao said. "And why just now? We have to study this."
On Monday, the Abu Sayyaf beheaded 68-year-old Canadian national John Ridsdel after the government failed to pay their $8-million ransom demand. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called it an "act of cold-blooded murder" and vowed to seek justice for the murdered Canadian national.
