Streamers, vigils call for Fr. Sinnott's release

A week after ailing Irish missionary Michael Sinnott was abducted in Pagadian City, residents hung streamers around the city calling for his immediate release. Pagadian Bishop Emmanuel Cabajar said the local faithful also held prayer vigils and prayed the rosary, a week after armed men abducted Sinnott. "Streamers calling for Fr. Mick’s release have been placed in a number of areas in the city," Cabajar said in an article posted on the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines news site Sunday night. He said the Pagadian diocese have started communal and individual prayers to "implore God’s help for the immediate release" of Sinnott.

Cabajar said he issued a circular read during Mass in Pagadian’s 25 churches, 16 schools and 17 religious communities, asking all to pray for Sinnott’s well-being. "There’s no progress yet and nobody has contacted us," he said. Quandary On Sunday, military authorities in southern Philippines admitted being in a quandary over the exact location of Sinnott and his abductors. "They are citing the Lanao provinces, but you can see that Lanao provinces are quite big. There are also reports that they are still in Zamboanga, other reports say they are in Basilan," said Col. Benito de Leon, commanding officer of the Army's 104th Bridage whose area of jurisdiction includes Lanao del Norte and Marawi City. [See: Military in a quandary over Sinnott's ‘locations’] Despite such predicament, however, Malacañang insisted Sunday that government forces are on top of the situation to rescue the 79-year-old Sinnott from his abductors. A Malacañang statement quoted presidential spokesman for economic affairs Gary Olivar as saying that the military and police are doing their “utmost best" to “rescue" Sinnott. US help But he stressed that while Columban missionaries had asked the United States to secure Sinnott’s release, Filipino authorities will be the lead in the rescue operations since the local forces know the situation on the ground. The Columban missionaries already sent a letter to United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton asking for the Obama government’s help to secure Sinnott’s release. Olivar said Malacañang will respect the decision of the missionaries and understands their appeal. He pointed out that the Philippine government welcomes any assistance from other countries to help in the rescue of the Irish priest. Olivar cited reports from the military that checkpoints are now being put up in some strategic areas to prevent kidnappers from slipping out. The military has also established a tactical command post in Sultan Naga Dimaporo but maintained that the deployment of more soldiers there was only for “containment operations." - GMANews.TV