A TOP government official assured the families of a kidnapped school principal who was beheaded by Abu Sayyaf bandits that the "murderers" will not be left unpunished.

This was the assurance made Tuesday by Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Ronaldo Puno, who arrived in Zamboanga City and met with top police and military officials.

"The Manny Pacquiao Blog". Click here for stories and updates on the Filipino boxing champ.

Gabriel Canizares, a school principal in the village of Kanague, Patikul, was beheaded by the Abu Sayyaf after his family failed to pay P2 million ransom.

His decapitated head, which was placed in a sack, was found around 5 a.m. Monday near a gasoline station in downtown Jolo, the capital town of Sulu province.

Canizares was kidnapped in the afternoon of October 19 while aboard a passenger jeep on the way home to the village of San Raymundo, Jolo.

"We are going to expect that those responsible for the beheading (of Canizares) will be made to answer for what they have done," Puno said.

Puno added that the offensive to hunt down Canizares executioners started and that deployment of troops has started.

Major General Benjamin Mohammad Dolorfino, chief of the Western Mindanao Command (Wesmincom), identified the leader of the Abu Sayyaf group that executed Canizares as Baharun Arug.

Sulu Governor Abdusakur Tan said the Abu Sayyaf bandits thought that Canizares is a rich man being a school principal, the reason they kidnapped him. (Bong Garcia)