An extensive military and army search is underway in the Philippines following the kidnapping of an Irish priest by a gang of armed men in the south of the country yesterday.
Michael Sinnott (79), a Columban Father originally from Barntown in Co Wexford, was taken away on a speedboat after six gunmen entered the Columban House in Pagadian city in the province of Zamboanga del Sur yesterday evening, and dragged him away, according to reports quoting local police.
Fr Sinnott was taking a stroll in the garden of the compound when a man knocked on the door asking for a priest. When a member of staff opened it, gunmen barged in and grabbed him.
The missionaries could not do anything “because the abductors had powerful weapons”, regional police commander Angelo Sunglao said.
The kidnappers took Fr Sinnott away by sea, Mr Sunglao said, citing fishermen in the area. The van used to take him from the house to shore was later found abandoned and burned near the Catholic mission.
Regional military commander Major General Benjamin Dolorfino said Fr Sinnott was kidnapped for ransom. Intelligence reports indicated he was taken by boat to a town in nearby Lanao del Norte province, where a large Muslim rebel group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, is active.
Maj Gen Dolorfino said it was not clear if the Moro group or smaller but more violent al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf extremists were involved.
Navy patrol ships were deployed to prevent the kidnappers from moving Fr Sinnott to an area where he could be held or turned over to the Abu Sayyaf, Maj Gen Dolorfino said.
The Abu Sayyaf has been blamed for high-profile kidnappings and for beheading some of its captives. “There is now an effort to locate him and lock them in a particular area,” he said.
There is concern for Fr Sinnott’s health as he requires medication after undergoing a quadruple bypass four years ago. Columban regional director, Father Patrick O’Donoghue, said he was worried Fr Sinnott was not carrying his medication when he was taken.
“Our efforts are to try and get words to the kidnappers that he does need his medication…we hope they could get it for him or we would get it for them if necessary," he said. "It is of enormous concern to us at the moment because without the medication his health is in very serious jeopardy.”
Catholic bishops in the Philippines appealed to Fr Sinnott's kidnappers to free the priest and allow him to go back to his charitable work. "Father Mick is not in the best of health and needs his daily dosage of medicines," Bishop Emmanuel Cabajar of Pagadian City said today.
Fr Sinnott was ordained in 1954 and was assigned to Mindanao in the southern Philippines in 1957 following his studies in Rome. He served in Mindanao until 1966 before being assigned to the theology staff in Dalgan Park, Navan.
He returned to the Philippines in 1976 where he has served in a variety of pastoral and administrative roles. Since 1998 he has been involved with a school for children with special needs.
Fr O’Donoghue said people from all walks of life had contacted the order to express sadness at what had happened to Fr Sinnott. “Right across the divide people are outraged that this could happen to a 79 year-old-man who has given his life to poor and to justice in this country,” he said.
The kidnapping comes nine months after Abu Sayyaf abducted three Red Cross workers on the island of Jolo. They were released one by one in a hostage crisis that lasted for six months. The group was also blamed for kidnapping Italian priest Giancarlo Bossi, who was held for more than a month in 2007.
Additional reporting AP