'Sinnott identified two MILF kidnappers'

MANILA, Philippines - Catholic priest Michael Sinnott has identified two Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) members who handed him over to authorities last week as two of the four kidnappers that guarded him.

Quoting a debriefing report on Sinnott, a military commander said the priest’s kidnappers were MILF fighters.

Sinnott said after he was snatched at the Columban halfway house in Pagadian City, he was handed over to the two MILF ceasefire committee members who guarded him in the mountains, according to a security official.

A source said the two MILF members accompanied Sinnott to the headquarters of Armed Forces Western Mindanao Command after the handover at Sanggali fishport in Zambaonga City.

“The truth is, they were two of the four members of their CCH panel who hid and guarded Fr. Sinnott,” the source said in Filipino.

Days before Sinnott’s release, a delegation from the European Union and the Irish embassy were monitored inside the MILF’s main Camp Darapan in Sultan Kudarat in Maguindanao, according to military intelligence.

No clashes with MILF

A military commander is confident that troops pursuing the kidnappers of Fr. Sinnott would not clash with MILF forces.

Col. Benito de Leon, Army 104th Infantry Brigade commander, said the ceasefire mechanisms on the ground would prevent armed engagements.

“I am confident that with the protocols in place, particularly the participation of the coordinating committee on the cessation of hostilities, both by the MILF and the Armed Forces of the Philippines, we could prevent this,” he said.

De Leon said troops will escort policemen who will serve the arrest warrants on the kidnappers of Sinnott in Lanao del Norte and Lanao del Sur.

“We just like to clarify it’s not combat operation but it’s law enforcement operation that the PNP has started to pursue or serve the warrants of arrest on the suspected kidnappers of Fr. Sinnott in the area,” he said.

Charges of kidnapping and serious illegal detention have been filed before the Pagadian City Prosecutor’s Office against MILF members Saidamen Montaner, James Palwa, a certain Jimboy and several unidentified suspects, according to Director Felizardo Serapio, Philippine National Police director for integrated police operations in Western Mindanao.

Envoys call for probe of beheading

European Union envoys have called for a speedy and thorough investigation into the beheading of Gabriel Canizares, an elementary school principal in Sulu.

In a statement, the ambassadors said although the release of Fr. Sinnott is a positive step, the scourge of kidnap-for-ransom continues.

“The ambassadors of the European Union condemn in the strongest possible terms the hideous murder of rural teacher Gabriel Canizares in Sulu on 9 November, and hope for a speedy and thorough investigation of this barbaric act, so that its perpetrators will be brought to justice promptly,” read the statement.

The envoys said the EU values human rights and attaches the utmost importance to right to life and human dignity.

“Therefore, we strongly condemn the use of kidnapping as a means to achieve any goal, whether political or any other whatsoever, and under any circumstan-ces,” read the statement.

The Missionary Society of St. Columban to which Fr. Sinnott belongs will discuss with Filipino bishops the kidnappings in Mindanao.

In a regular Church-organized forum yesterday, Columban Missionary’s Regional Superior Fr. Patrick O’Donaghue said they would be consulting with Filipino bishops on how to minimize the possibility of a priest being snatched in Mindanao.

“We will be meeting with the bishops to look at how we can continue to contribute to the diocese,” he said.

“How we can continue to be the missionaries we believe we are called to be. How we can, in the same way, minimize the risks.” – With James Mananghaya, Pia Lee-Brago, Sheila Crisostomo