Philippine church refuses to pay ransom for priest
Philippine church refuses to pay ransom for priest
ISABELA, Philippines (Reuter): A Roman Catholic bishop yesterday flatly refused to pay ransom to Moslem fundamentalists holding a priest hostage in the southern Philippines and an army general said a rescue operation was under way.
"Our position has always been no negotiation, no ransom," said Romulo de la Cruz, bishop of Basilan.
Guerrillas of the fundamentalist Abu Sayyaf group have demanded three million pesos (US$110,000) for Father Cirilo Nacorda, who is being held in the mountainous interior of Basilan Island, 950 kilometers south of Manila.
On Monday, they freed 20 Christian hostages, 15 of them women, after government negotiators paid 200,000 pesos ($7,400) for their "board and lodgings" since they were kidnapped last Wednesday.
The kidnappers had earlier shot dead 15 male hostages.
"We'll leave it to the local and military authorities to make the proper moves because once we start negotiating and even offering ransom then there will be no end to (kidnappings)," de la Cruz told reporters.
Military officials said troops had surrounded the rebels' mountain hideout.
"We are pursuing negotiations but we will get them dead or alive," Gen. Orlando Soriano, overall military commander of the southern Philippines, told reporters.
"In fact, rescue operations started at midnight and by the end of the day we are expecting positive results," he said.
Soriano did not elaborate but said the priest's safety was still paramount.
"We are trying to balance our operation with the safety of the hostage," he said.
Government negotiators, led by Basilan Governor Jerry Salapuddin, said the rebels kept Nacorda, who is in his early 30s, to use as a human shield against troops.
Favorite target
Teacher Antonio Basubas, one of those freed on Monday, said the rebels tied Nacorda up at night to prevent him from escaping.
"They would untie him every morning," he said, adding that the fundamentalists were afraid to see a repeat of what happened more than a year ago when another Roman Catholic priest, Spaniard Bernardo Blanco, escaped from his captors.
Nacorda is from the same parish as Blanco, who went back to Spain after his escape and has not returned to Basilan.
Basubas said Nacorda, who was in tears when the other hostages left and asked them to pray for him, had told him he would be thankful if some private organizations would work for his release.
"He knows 100 percent that the church will not pay ransom for him," Basubas said.
Clergymen have been a favorite target for kidnappers who have plagued the southern Philippines. Basuba said Nacorda had told him priests had to sign waivers agreeing that no ransom would be paid if they were kidnapped.
The freed hostages said the kidnappers were treating Nacorda courteously and that he was well-fed.
The kidnappers seized more than 70 people last Wednesday but let about 30 go immediately. They killed the 15 within hours. The rebels say the kidnappings were in retaliation for a major offensive against Abu Sayyaf's main bases on nearby Jolo Island.
Basilan has a population of 300,000, 65 percent of whom are Moslem.