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.