Kidnappers of priest demand P8-M ransom

The kidnappers of Italian Catholic priest Giuseppi Pierantoni are said to be demanding P8.3 million in ransom, a military official said yesterday.

Army Brig. Gen. Angel Atutubo, commander of Task Force Guiseppi, told reporters yesterday military intelligence is verifying reports that one "Commander Ramsey," leader of the kidnap gang, had demanded money.

"According to our informants, the group of Commander Ramsey is demanding an P8.3-million ransom for (Pierantoni’s) release," he said. "But we want to stress that this information is raw."

The gang is believed to be comprised of a "lost command" of the secessionist Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), he added.

Army Lt. Gen. Roy Cimatu, Southern Command chief, said he has ordered troops in Central Mindanao to destroy "without any delay" the kidnappers of Pierantoni.

"When a particular grouping is connected with the kidnappers, they lose their identity as MILF or MNLF (Moro National Liberation Front) and we will hit the kidnappers," he said.

Cimatu said the Army has expanded its search to many areas of Zamboanga Peninsula, where the kidnappers led by Faizal Maruhumsar and Nurham Amin Ramsi are believed to have taken the Catholic priest.

"I have directed the commander of the 6th Infantry Division to destroy the Pentagon (gang)," he said. "If there is such a Pentagon group of kidnappers as reported in the papers, the (Army) 6th Division commander has been given a mission to destroy them without any delay."

Cimatu said efforts are being made to negotiate for the immediate release of Pierantoni, who is said to be suffering from dehydration as a result of amoebiasis.

"We have received reports that the priest is very weak because he is suffering from dehydration," he said. – Paolo Romero, Roel Pareño