Palace insists no ransom was paid for Italian priest

Malacañang maintained yesterday that no ransom was paid for Monday’s release of kidnapped Italian priest Fr. Giuseppe Pierantoni, but officials could not agree on whether the victim was rescued or voluntarily freed and recovered in a remote village in Zamboanga del Sur.

Certain quarters including local government officials believed that money changed hands for the safe release of Pierantoni, who was held captive by the Pentagon gang for nearly six months in their jungle lair in Zamboanga del Sur.

They cited the presence of Presidential Adviser for Special Concerns Norberto Gonzales and Philippine National Police chief Director General Leandro Mendoza in Upper Tungawan where the kidnappers freed Pierantoni.

Presidential Spokesman Rigoberto Tiglao said Gonzales’ presence in Tungawan was cleared by President Arroyo to ensure the safe recovery of the kidnapped Italian priest.

"But he was not there to deliver the supposed ransom," Tiglao insisted.

Tiglao said that 45-year-old Pierantoni, who was snatched by armed men from his parish church in Dimataling town, Zamboanga del Sur last Oct. 17, was recovered — and not rescued — by a joint police-military unit dispatched to Tungawan to fetch Pierantoni.

"He was really recovered. He was really left behind (by his captors)," Tiglao stressed.

He said Pierantoni may have convinced his captors that the police and the military were closing in on them. "He may have convinced his captors not to fight back," Tiglao said.

He also said Gonzales enjoyed some degree of clout over Muslim secessionist rebel leaders, and must have been able to persuade them not to move while government forces were operating against the Pentagon kidnappers.

"He talked with these MILF (Moro Islamic Liberation Front) leaders not to move as the operatives swoop down on the Pentagon gang," Tiglao said.

The Agence France Presse also quoted Tiglao as saying "the kidnappers were forced to abandon the priest unharmed after military pressure that left about 15 kidnappers dead."

Interior and Local Government Secretary Jose Lina agreed with Tiglao that no ransom was paid for Pierantoni’s release, but asserted that Pierantoni was "rescued" in a legitimate police-military operation.

"Absolutely, there was no ransom. I will stake my neck on the line if there was ransom involved in the recovery of Father Pierantoni," Lina said.

He noted Pierantoni was still confused over the events leading to his recovery.

"I’m not saying that the priest was wrong, but the overall circumstances need to be clarified," Lina said.

Reacting to the news about Pierantoni’s release, Mrs. Arroyo said the priest was rescued after a fierce fight between government forces and the Pentagon gang.

The priest hinted that his release appeared to have been pre-arranged. He said his captors freed him after a 12-hour hike through dense forests, and that he was surprised to see soldiers and policemen, along with an ambulance already waiting for him in Tungawan.

"There was no (violent) encounter. I was handed over to the authorities," Pierantoni said in a television interview.

The AFP also reported that Pierantoni said his abductors had told him he was about to be freed. Later that day, he was taken to the side of a highway and left there until a car picked him up.

He did not say who was in the car or why his kidnappers freed him.

Speaker Jose de Venecia hailed Pierantoni’s release as a "fresh start in Christian-Muslim cooperation."

De Venecia, currently in Athens, Greece for a meeting with his Greek counterpart Apostolos Kaklamanis, said the release came on the heels of appeals made by Pope John Paul II and the President of the Italian Parliament Pier Ferdinando Casini.

Meanwhile, Muslim religious leaders in Western and Central Mindanao accused the government of breaking anew its "no-ransom policy" in seeking Pierantoni’s release.

Members of Mindanao’s Islamic and Catholic communities insinuated that Pierantoni’s "rescue" was but a reenactment of the ransom negotiations involving huge amount provided by the Libyan government for last year’s release of Chinese national Zhang Zhung Yi and his Filipino interpreter Edwin Lim who were snatched by armed men in North Cotabato last year.

They claimed that Gonzales also spearheaded the negotiations.

In a related development, two suspected members of the Pentagon gang were reportedly killed yesterday in separate clashes with soldiers in Maguindanao and Sarangani provinces.

The first encounter, which took place in Barangay Piñol in Maitum town in Maguindanao, left suspected kidnapper Mama Lauban dead.

Maj. Julieto Ando, spokesman for the Army’s 6th Infantry Division, said the troops were patrolling a secluded area in Piñol when they chanced upon the suspects, triggering a running gunbattle.

The gunmen fled toward Maitum’s border with Palembang town after sensing that military reinforcements were coming. — Marichu Villanueva, Katherine Adraneda, John Unson