Journalist Maria Ressa negotiated with Abu Sayyaf to save her employees. Here's what she learned.

On Monday,Canadian Robert Hall was executed by Abu Sayyaf militantsin the Philippines.

The militants had been holding Hall hostage since September, 2015.They weredemanding a staggering$16.6 million in ransom for his release.Hall's family was able to come up with 1.4 million dollars but it was not enough.

The Canadian government decided not to pay theransom needed to secure Hall's release. Prime Minister Justin Trudeaureiteratedthe government's position in a statement this week, saying:"Canada cannot and will not pay ransoms to terrorists. We will not turn the maple leaf worn with pride, worn by over 3 million Canadians abroad, into targets."

Hall's family says even in their darkest hour, they support the Canadian government's decision not to pay the AbuSayyafmilitants.

They've turned it into a cottage industry, and the end goal, most of the time, has been to get the money.- Filipino journalistMaria Ressa

Hall'sdeath comes just eightweeks after another Canadian hostage, JohnRidsdel, was killed by the same group. WhenRidsdelwas killed, Philippine president-elect RodrigoDuterteapologized toTrudeauand vowed to "make sure nothing of the sort will happen again."

Kidnappings by AbuSayyafare all toocommon in the Philippines, asFilipino journalistMariaRessaknows. The former CNN bureau chief in Manila and the CEO and executive editor of the news siteRappler.com,Ressahas reported on dozens of AbuSayyafkidnappings.

"In general, the AbuSayyafkidnaps for ransom," she says. "They've turned it into a cottage industry, and the end goal, most of the time, has been to get the money."

I received a phone call very early in the morning.She told me that she had been kidnapped, and they wanted money.- Filipino journalist Maria Ressa

Ressahas personal experience dealing with Abu Sayyaf.In 2008, sheled the negotiations to free three of her own staff members who were held hostage by the group.

"I received a phone call very early in the morning and the person who was calling me was my journalist," Ressa says. "I could hear them behind her, speaking in a dialect.She told me that she had been kidnapped, and they wanted money."

It took Ressa and her teamten days of negotiation before they were able to raise and transferthe$500,000 U.S. that Abu Sayyaf demandedin order tosecure the journalists' release.

It isn't justa security problem.-Filipino journalistMariaRessa

Filipino president Rodrigo Duterte has vowed to fight the terrorist group by any means necessary.But Ressa saysthe problem will cannot be solved bymilitary might alone.

"It isn't justa security problem; it isn't a law and order problem," she says. "You have local government officials who are involvedin this. The community benefits when money comes in; it's spread throughout the entire community. So I think that the main problem that needs to be addressed is much more complex."