MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine military said on Monday that a priest held captive by Islamist militants in Marawi is still alive, as rescue operations continue to reduce the number of hostages trapped in the city to several hundreds.
Lt. Col. Jo-ar Herrera, Joint Task Force Marawi spokesperson, said that one of the hostages they rescued saw Catholic priest Teresito Suganob together with the other civilians held captive by Maute militants.
“May good news po tayo diyan. Buhay pa rin po si Father Chito [Suganob]. Ito po ay revelation ng isa nating na-rescue. Two days ago po, nakita po siya buhay at kasama po sa mga hostages,” Herrera told DZMM radio.
“We got information from evacuees rescued last Sunday from conflict-affected barangays that Father Chito is still alive but is a virtual captive. The information is being checked now,” Lt. Gen. Carlito Galvez, Jr. of the Western Mindanao Command also told The STAR by phone at past 6:00 a.m. Monday.
Suganob, vicar general of the prelature of Marawi, was kidnapped by Maute fighters when hostilities erupted in the city on May 23.
Aside from the priest, the rebels also kidnapped several staff members of the local church and churchgoers, and torched the Cathedral of Our Lady of Help of Christians on the day when the Christian community in the town was supposed to celebrate the feast of its patron saint.
“Kinuha nila 'yung aming pari, saka 'yung aming secretary, 'yung dalawang working student tapos parokyano namin na nag-novena lang kahapon,” Edwin dela Peña, bishop-prelate of Marawi City, said a day after the abduction.
The priest was last seen in a video appealing to the government to stop military offensives against the militants who have entrenched themselves in a small but strategic location in the city that has proven difficult to overrun for security personnel.
The military dismissed the video as propaganda.
1,704 civilians rescued
Herrera said that continuous rescue operations have freed around 1,704 civilians who were either trapped or taken as hostages.
Based on records, around 100 to 200 hostages remain in Islamist hands, according to Herrera.
“Sa ating record po meron pa rin po tayong 100 to 200 hostages. Wala na po (libo) kasi malaki-laki na rin po ang ating naililigtas. Umaabot na rin sa 1704,” he said. “Nagpapatuloy pa rin yung ating pag-rescue sa mga natititrang civilian of course including yung mga hostages.”
'Maute indoctrinating hostages'
Herrera also revealed that the militants were already indoctrinating some of their hostages in an effort to make them embrace their beliefs and convert them.
The military spokesperson also blasted the Islamist rebels for violating the human rights of their captives as they made them do errands and attend to their wounded fighters.
“Talagang sobra-sobrang violation of human rights ang ginagawa po dito. Sa ating nakukuha mula sa loob na nakakatakas at nire-rescue natin, talagang ginagamit po sila bilang utusan, inuuilit ko ginagawang taga-luto, tagabuhat ng bala nila, tagabuhat ng wounded nila. At minsan ginagamit ito sa pagnanakaw,” said Herrera.
He disclosed: “Minsan nagkakaroon na rin ng parang teaching or yung pagpilit na pag-embrace dito sa ideology.”
The Philippine military resumed its offensives Sunday afternoon following its declaration of a truce in deference to the observance of the Muslim feast for the end of the holy month of Ramadan.
The fighting in the city exploded following a failed May 23 attempt by security personnel to arrest Abu Sayyaf subleader Isnilon Hapinon, who is believed to have already abandoned the Maute Group.
Soldiers and police encountered stiff rebel resistance which quickly spiraled into a city-wide conflict which has consumed most of the town and displaced almost all of its 200,000 residents.
The clashes led to President Rodrigo Duterte’s declaration of military rule in Mindanao, an island of 22 million parts of which have been wracked by criminality and lawlessness in the past decades. — with a report from John Unson