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“Yes, it is good news” for Hall, his Filipino girlfriend, Marites Flor and Kjartan Sekkingstad of Norway who were abducted with Ridsdel last September, said political analyst Richard Heydarian, whose writings about the Philippines often appear in international publications.. The three captives are being help in thickly forested mountainous terrain about 500 kilometres west of where they were abducted.

“I think that Duterte is the best choice not only for the hostages but to bring together Christians and Muslims to end decades of conflict. As a Mindanaon president he will be in a unique position to end decades of militantism and to stamp out terrorism.”

During his more than 20 years as mayor of Davao, Duterte developed connections with Communist and Islamic rebels. He also has Muslim ties on his mother’s side.

“For those reasons, he understands the peace process better than any of the other candidates,” Heydarian said. While willing to talk with the rebels, “he has been calling on the majority of Muslims to fight extremism,” he said.

Taming Abu Sayyaf and making the entire south safe are among the most daunting challenges facing Duterte, who finished more than six million votes ahead of his closest rival, outgoing president Benigno Aquino’s ally, Mar Roxas, in Monday’s presidential elections. He will be sworn in on June 30.

Often using raw, attention-getting language to underline how he intended to rule if elected, Duterte vowed during the campaign to end political corruption and establish law and order across the 7,000 islands that make up this sprawling tropical archipelago, using as a template his mayorship in Davao.