Rebels Demand $1-M Ransom For Kidnapped PIME Priest In Southern Philippines

PAGADIAN CITY (Mindanao Examiner / 19 Jun) – Philippine rebels have demanded one million dollars from the Pontifical Institute of Foreign Missions (PIME) in exchange for the safe release of one of its kidnapped Italian missioner in Mindanao.

The rebels, headed by Akiddin Abdusallam, a rogue leader of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), is holding Fr Giancarlo Bossi, who was kidnapped June 10 after celebrating mass in the coastal town of Payao in Zamboanga Sibugay province, local authorities said.

Rebel sources here said the kidnappers demanded the ransom from PIME, which has offices in Zamboanga City and Manila.

PIME superior Rev. Gianni Sandalo said his group will not pay ransom.

MILF senior rebel leader Mohagher Iqbal said Abdusallam is a not a member of his group, but Abu Sayyaf, blamed by Manila for the terrorism and kidnappings for ransom in the troubled region.

Iqbal also heads the MILF group which is currently negotiating peace with Philippine government.

The MILF previously said the kidnappers were demanding “tens of millions of pesos in ransom.”
Lieutenant Colonel Emmanuel Sison, local army commander, said troops have put up more roadblocks in Zamboanga Sibugay as part of a government rescue operation to free the 57-year old Bossi, from Milan.

But a rebel spokesman, Eid Kabalu, said Bossi has been taken by his captors in Lanao del Norte province where MILF forces are pursuing the kidnappers. “We have forces also in the area and we are trying to get back the priest without ransom,” he said in a separate interview.

Philippine military chief General Hermogenes Esperon said troops have located the hideout of the kidnappers and that Bossi may soon be freed.

The MILF is helping in the government rescue operation, but Kabalu said the presence of army soldiers in the area where Bossi is being held could jeopardize the effort for the release of the foreigner.

“We don’t want a scenario that there will be accidental clashes between MILF fighters involved in the rescue mission and government troops pursuing the kidnappers. That will jeopardize our mission to rescue the priest,” he said.

The MILF forged an agreement in 2004 that paved the way for rebel forces to help government hunt down terrorists and criminal elements in areas where the rebel group is actively operating.

But the accord ends on Thursday unless both sides agree to renew the interim pact and if not, the MILF may not be able to continue helping authorities rescue the missioner.

The MILF, the country’s largest Muslim rebel group, has previously helped in rescuing many Filipino and foreign kidnapped victims in the restive region of Mindanao.

Major General Mohammad Dolorfino, leader of the government ad hoc joint action group, said the safety of the hostage is the primary concern of the military and that there is an ongoing negotiation to secure Bossi’s freedom without paying ransom.

"Our primary consideration is Bossi's safety. We will exert all peaceful means to resolve the matter,” he said without elaborating. (Becky de Asis, Juley Reyes, Juan Magtanggol and Joseph Danda)