Kidnapped priest believed to be alive in Philippines

KIDNAPPED IRISH priest Fr Michael Sinnott is believed to be alive and efforts are being made to verify the identity of groups who abducted him more than two weeks ago, but many questions remain over his plight.

Fr Sinnott was snatched from his compound on October 11th by six gunmen who barged into the Columban House in Pagadian City in Zamboanga del Sur province, 890km south of Manila.

“I am still waiting and hoping,” said Fr Pat O’Donoghue, regional director of the Columban Fathers in the area. The group which kidnapped Fr Sinnott is believed to be moving around the jungle area of the southern Philippines in which he is being held, reportedly on the border areas of the two Lanao provinces, but the priest’s exact whereabouts remain a mystery.

There has been a bewildering number of different reports about the missionary’s whereabouts, about his physical state and about who is holding him.

Authorities believe that rogue elements of the separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front (Milf) are behind the abduction. The Milf, as well as other Muslim armed gangs and bands of pirates, are known to operate in parts of Lanao.

However, the 12,000-strong Milf denied it was behind the abduction, and has said on numerous occasions that it was willing to help troops track down the kidnappers and recover the priest. However, what the exact nature of that assistance might be remains to be seen, and sources close to the rescue efforts said details had yet to be finalised.

The army is unlikely to want armed Milf rebels helping on the ground, so plans to link Milf forces with government security forces are difficult to operate, given that both sides have been involved in deadly skirmishes for decades in a war that has turned Mindanao into one of the world’s worst trouble spots, with thousands dead and left homeless, even though the fighting rarely makes international headlines.

At the moment, the defence forces and the rebels are fighting a war of words over the kidnapping.

Philippine defence secretary Gilberto Teodoro jnr, who is planning to stand for president next year, said yesterday that rogue Milf rebels were holding Fr Sinnott, and that the priest was under the control of a rogue sub-commander of the Milf’s 113th base command.

This prompted an angry response from Milf spokesman Eid Kabalu, who rejected Mr Teodoro’s “baseless accusations”. While the military and the rebels continue to bicker about efforts to secure Fr Sinnott’s release, the longer the Wexford man remains in captivity, the greater the fears for his health.

Fr Gilbert Hingone, a spokesperson for the Pagadian City diocese, said little progress was made when initial negotiations to secure Fr Sinnott’s release started on Monday. A large prayer rally was held in Pagadian City at the weekend.

Quoting sources in military intelligence and the Milf, local media said the 79-year-old missionary was in a critical condition due to dysentery, malnutrition and the absence of the medicine he needs following open-heart surgery four years ago.

Lieut Col Romeo Brawner, spokesman for the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), said that the focus was on finding a peaceful solution, as mounting a raid might be risky, although he said Fr Sinnott’s worsening medical condition might prompt a military rescue.