Police, NBI release artist's sketches of Sinnott's abductors

Investigators on Thursday released artists' sketches on suspects in the abduction of Michael Sinnott, the 79-year-old Irish priest who was seized by gunmen in southern Philippines last Sunday.

In a statement, Task Force Sinnott spokesman Allan June Molde said without elaborating that the Philippine National Police, together with the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), were able to generate the sketch through witnesses' accounts. The sketches were first presented Wednesday during a meeting of the Crisis Management Committee, headed by Zamboanga del Sur governor Aurora Enerio Cerilles. Sinnott was forcibly taken from his house at the Missionary Society of St. Columban compound in Pagadian City in Zamboanga del Sur last Sunday evening. He is the latest kidnap victim in southern Philippines. Maj. Gen. Ben Dolorfino, chief of the military’s Western Mindanao Command (Westmincom), identified the owner of the boat used to transport the victim as Guingona Samal, an alleged pirate leader operating in the area. Maj. David Hontiveros, spokesman of the military's Western Mindanao Command (Westmincom), said the suspects forced the priest onto a mini-van, headed toward Sta. Lucia district, transferred to a boat and then fled. The military had claimed that the priest was sighted thrice along the coastal waters of Lanao del Norte. However, government has yet to make an official statement on which group was behind Sinnott's abduction. Various groups have already called for the immediate release of Sinnott as he was reportedly suffering from a heart condition. He reportedly underwent a heart bypass operation recently. The government on Wednesday said it has asked the Moro Islamic Liberation Front's (MILF) for help to secure the freedom of the priest. The rebel group, for its part, pledged to work for the release of Sinnott. - GMANews.TV