MANILA - Interior Secretary Ronaldo Puno said Tuesday the government has rejected the offer of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front to help in the negotiations for the immediate release of Irish priest Fr. Michael Sinnott.
Puno told a press conference that they have rejected the offer of the MILF to send a company-size delegation to help negotiate for the release of Sinnott.
“Our view here is they can either control these people or they cannot. If they have influence over these people then we don’t understand why they need a company-size group to go in there. They can send one or two people with a cell phone, or with drums if they like, if they want to just go into drum-beating to communicate with each other,” Puno said.
He added that starting Tuesday, the local crisis management committee will be cutting off communication with the MILF so as not to compromise the ongoing peace negotiations.
All efforts of the MILF to help in the ongoing crisis will be forwarded to the government peace panel under Ambassador Rafael Seguis, Puno said.
Puno also said that based on intelligence reports, the group behind Sinnott's abduction was either directly connected to or closely associated with the MILF.
He named the MILF’s 113rd base command under a certain Commander Aloy Al Asree as responsible for Sinnott’s abduction.
Sinnott is believed to be held somewhere along the boundaries of Lanao del Sur, Lanao del Norte, Zamboanga del Sur, and Cotabato City.
“I will recommend to the crisis management committee that this request of the MILF be referred back to the peace panel to whom I’ve expressed my objections. I believe that if they [MILF] can really help here, all they need is one or two people to communicate with the kidnappers. And if they need more than that then it means that they cannot control this MILF group,” Puno said.
He added that the crisis management committee has already established connection with the kidnappers and are already negotiating for Sinnott’s release. Puno, however, did not provide more information on the negotiations.
“At the end of the day, our biggest concern is the safety of Fr. Sinnott. Everybody knows he is 79 years old, he will soon turn 80; he has had a quadruple heart bypass, and he requires maintenance medicines. Suffice it to say that the PNP and the AFP have the situation under its watch,” Puno said.
Sinnott was abducted in Pagadian City last October 11.
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