'Sinnott now in hands of MILF commander—police': Philippine Daily Inquirer

Fr Michael Sinnott with young friends in Pagadian City

The Philippine Daily Inquirer carries a report by Julia Alipala and Abigail Kwok under 'BreakingNews' today under the headling 'Sinnott now in hands of MILF commander - police'. I have not had any news today from the Columban superior in the Philippines, Fr Pat O'Donoghue. The PDI report was posted at 10:46am.

The PDI report notes that the police 'are still verifying the veracity of these reports':

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines—(UPDATE) Kidnapped Irish priest Michael Sinnott is now in the hands of a Moro rebel commander in Lanao Del Norte, the police said Wednesday.

Chief Superintendent Angelo Sunglao, Western Mindanao police chief, said Sinnot and his abductors arrived in Sultan Naga Dimaporo town on Monday.

He said the suspects handed over the priest to Latip Jamat, a commander of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, and is now being held in the hinterlands of the said town.

But in a separate interview with INQUIRER.net, Sunglao said police are still verifying the veracity of these reports.

Full report here.

The town mentioned, Sultan Naga Dimaporo, formerly Karomatan, in Lanao del Norte, was established as a parish by the Columbans sometime after World War II - I don't know the exact year - and handed over to the local clergy on Pentecost Sunday 1998, a ceremony I attended.

A widely distributed AFP report quotes an MILF leader as saying that the group were willing to help find Father Sinnott:

The MILF also said it was willing to assist the military and police in hunting down the kidnappers, rebel spokesman Eid Kabalu said from his base in the south.

“We are not involved in this, and we see no reason why our men should be involved in this,” Kabalu said, stressing that his group was set to resume peace talks with the government.

“We don’t know who is behind this, but what is important is that we are willing to cooperate and assist the government look for him (Sinnott) for humanitarian reasons,” Kabalu insisted.