Navy tries to seal off Irishman’s kidnappers – Dolorfino

PAGADIAN, Zamboanga del Sur: Navy gunboats were deployed and road blocks set up Tuesday to block the escape route of suspected militants who abducted an elderly Irish priest, who has been seen alive on three occasions, authorities said. The dramatic efforts came as Michael Sinnott’s church vowed not to pay any ransom for his release, and warned again that the 79-year-old’s life was at risk because of a long history of heart problems.

Major Gen. Ben Dolorfino, military chief for the area of the southern Philippines where Sinnott was
abducted on Sunday, said authorities were trying to box in the kidnappers after they were seen with their captive on Monday.

“Our effort now is to contain them in that particular area,” Dolorfino told reporters.

He said four Navy gunboats had been dispatched to the Moro Gulf after intelligence operatives saw them Monday along the coast of Lanao del Sur province about 70 kilometers southeast from where he was abducted.

Police and military teams had also set up roadblocks along highways in the area, he said.

Sighted in Lanao del Sur

The elderly Irish missionary was spotted with his captors in Lanao del Sur, one of five provinces in the troubled Muslim autonomous region in Mindanao, Dolorfino said, adding that troops were sent to the province to prevent the kidnappers from getting away with Sinnott.

He said civilians reported seeing the priest, who is a native of Wexford, at least three times since Monday.
“We have sent soldiers in the area to contain the kidnappers in just one place. We also deployed four patrol ships in Lanao to prevent the gunmen from escaping at sea,” Dolorfino told The Manila Times.

He said that security personnel have already identified the current location where the kidnappers were keeping Sinnott.

But Dolorfino did not say what particular town or who was responsible for the kidnapping of the 80-year-old missioner so as not to jeopardize the rescue operations.

“We cannot give you anything other than the priest was seen in Lanao del Sur three times—twice of Monday and again Tuesday,” he said.

No group has claimed responsibility for the latest kidnapping, but suspicion fell heavily on Muslim rebels and Abu Sayyaf militants blamed for previous kidnappings for ransom.

Snatched from mission house

Six armed gunmen kidnapped Sinnott from his home at the Missionary Society of Saint Columban compound in Pagadian City on Sunday night in what appeared to be a well-organized operation.

After driving him away from his home, they burnt the escape vehicle then transferred their bruised and battered captive to a motorized boat.

His abduction was the latest in a long list of kidnappings targeting foreign missionaries and tourists in the southern third of this majority Roman Catholic nation.

Most of those kidnappings have been carried out by the Abu Sayyaf militant group, listed by the United States as a terrorist organization.

Authorities said the Abu Sayyaf may have abducted Sinnott, but they also suspect the bigger Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), which has been fighting for an independent Muslim state in the southern Philippines since 1978.

A commander in the southern Philippines, Major Gen. Romeo Lustestica, said also on Monday that he believed the abduction was a kidnap-for-ransom operation, similar to other abductions in the restive Mindano region.

No ransom

The head of the Columban missionaries in the Philippines, Peter O’Donoghue, said Tuesday the church had not received calls from any group claiming responsibility, while insisting Sinnott’s freedom would not be bought.

“We won’t give any ransom,” O’Donoghue said, citing church policy, but called on the abductors to show mercy.

“Whatever your motives are, please recognize the age and health condition of Father Sinnott and his love for needy children with disabilities. For these reasons, please release him quickly and safely.”

O’Donoghue said there were deep concerns over Sinnott’s health after he had quadruple heart bypass several years ago.

“He has recovered [from the surgery], but he needs constant medication,” O’Donoghue said.

Dick O’Brien, the Irish ambassador to Singapore, is traveling to the Philippines to help secure the release of Sinnott.

O’Brien is expected to meet Filipino government officials in Manila to discuss how best to secure the priest’s freedom.

Sinnott’s family fears for safety of the cleric, saying, the missioner has had health problems and is without his medicine. His brother-in-law, Aidan Conway, said he was “very worried,” as are all of Sinnott’s relations.

“The family is really terribly upset. Nothing like this has ever happened. He’s a very dedicated man, and let’s hope that he’ll be strong enough to get through it. He doesn’t have his medication and it’s very worrying,” the Belfast Telegraph reported.

Conway, whose late wife, Eileen, was a sister of Sinnott, said he was sure that Ambassador Dick O’Brien, the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Columban order were doing everything possible to secure the release of the cleric.

Usual suspects

The Abu Sayyaf and the MILF, as well as other unnamed Muslim armed gangs, are known to operate in Lanao and other parts of Mindanao.

The 12,000-strong MILF on Tuesday denied it was behind the abduction, and said it was willing to help troops track down the kidnappers.

“We are not involved in this,” MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu told Agence France-Presse.

Founded in the 1990s with seed money from al-Qaeda, the Abu Sayyaf has been blamed for the country’s worst terrorist attacks as well as kidnappings that in one case involved the beheading an American captive.
Sinnott has spent about 40 years in the Philippines, first arriving in Mindanao in 1957 as a young missionary. After a stint elsewhere, he came back to the Philippines in 1976 and never left.

Fondly called Father Mick by his flock, he is described by his colleagues as a compassionate defender of victims of injustice and a benefactor to the poor, especially children with disabilities.
AFP and Al Jacinto With Report From Jefferson Antiporda