Kidnapped Irish priest Fr Michael Sinnott is believed to be alive and efforts are being made to verify the groups who abducted him more than two weeks ago, but many question marks remain over the missionary’s plight.
Fr Sinnott was abducted from his compound on October 11th by six gunmen, who barged into the Columban House in Pagadian City in Zamboanga del Sur province, 890 kilometres south of Manila.
“I am still waiting and hoping,” said Fr Pat O’Donoghue, regional director of the Columban Fathers in the area.
The group which kidnapped Fr Sinnott is believed to be moving around the jungle area of the southern Philippines in which he is being held, reportedly on the border areas of the two Lanao provinces, but the priest’s exact location remain a mystery.
There have been a bewildering number of different reports about Fr Sinnott’s whereabouts, about his physical state and about who is holding him.
Authorities believe that rogue elements of the separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) are behind the abduction. The MILF, as well as other Muslim armed gangs and bands of pirates, are known to operate in parts of Lanao.
However, the 12,000-strong MILF denied it was behind the abduction, and has said on numerous occasions that it was willing to help troops track down the kidnappers and recover the priest.
While the military and the rebels continue to bicker about efforts to secure Fr Sinnott’s release, the longer the Co Wexford man remains in captivity, the greater the fears for his health.
Quoting sources in military intelligence and the MILF, local media said the 79-year-old missionary was in critical condition due to dysentery, malnutrition and the absence of the medicine he needs following open-heart surgery four years ago.