October 29, 2009, GMA News, 9:50 AM, Pagadian Church doubts Sinnott is being held by MILF,

October 29, 2009, GMA News, 9:50 AM, Pagadian Church doubts Sinnott is being held by MILF,

Catholic Church officials in Pagadian City questioned Thursday Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro Jr.'s claim that abducted Irish priest Michael Sinnott is in the hands of rogue Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) forces.

Pagadian diocese spokesman Fr. Gilbert Hingone said Teodoro's claim is mere "speculation" as there has been no direct contact with the abductors yet.

"Ah, actually that is still unconfirmed. Right now we could not exactly say the MILF is the one holding Fr. Sinnott. We do not have direct contact with him yet. I should say that those are speculations only," Hingone said in an interview on dzXL radio.

On Wednesday, Teodoro said that based on intelligence reports he received from the ground,
"rogue" MILF units were holding Sinnott. [See: ‘Rogue’ MILF group has Fr. Sinnott - Teodoro]

Rogue MILF units were also blamed for abuses in Mindanao last year, after the Supreme Court junked the Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain.

No direct contact

It has been 18 days since Sinnott was seized by armed men on the night of October 11 in Pagadian City. Until now, no group has claimed responsibility for the incident. [See:Gunmen seize Irish priest in Pagadian City]

Hingone also said that up to now, they still have a hard time verifying if the medicines they sent to Sinnott have reached him.

"It's hard also to find out if nakarating(if the medicines reached Sinnott). We sent the medicine twice but it's very hard to verify if it reached Fr. Sinnott. Until now we don't have direct contact with him or with the abductors," he said.

At the time of the abduction, the 79-year-old Sinnott was said to be recuperating from a heart operation.

For his part, MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu reiterated the MILF, at least the mainstream command, has no knowledge of Sinnott's whereabouts.

"Di naman maging basehan sa areana meron tayong presence, sa atingcontrol ang victim. Right now, naka-focus tayo, meron tayong task forcepara sa rescue na ito (Just because we have a presence in the area does not mean we control that area. Right now we are helping resolve the problem by forming a task force to locate and rescue Sinnott)," Kabalu said in a separate interview.

Campaigning?

Kabalu also took a dig at Teodoro, saying he may be milking the issue to gain media mileage for his campaign. Teodoro is being groomed as the administration standard bearer for the 2010 polls.

"With due respect, galing kay Sec. Teodoro ang report na yan, baka napupulitika ito (With due respect, Teodoro may be using this issue for politics)," Kabalu said.

But military information chief Lt. Col. Romeo Brawner Jr. maintained that Teodoro made his claim based on "validated intelligence reports."

"Kaya malakas ang loob ng Secretaryna magsabi ng ganitong balita (That is why the secretary had enough guts to disclose that)," Brawner said.

Brawner also said that if the MILF is sincere in helping resolve the issue, it should not bring armed troops to areas where Sinnott is believed held.

"Kung pupuwede huwag silang magpadala ng armed troops sa baba dahil malaking posibilidad [na] magkaroon ng misencounters (They should not bring armed troops to the field. There is a great chance of a misencounter)," he said.

Brawner said the Army's 104th Infantry Brigade is in the area and ready to act if the crisis management committee orders a rescue operation. - GMANews.TV