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Thursday, January 17, 2008
Troops pursue Tawi-Tawi priest killers
By Bong Garcia
ZAMBOANGA CITY -- Combined military and police forces are pursuing the gunmen who allegedly killed a priest who resisted them and seized a teacher on Tuesday night in a remote island of Tawi-Tawi province.
The gunmen are believed to be members of the al Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf group.
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Lieutenant Colonel Arthur Larin, chief of the Marine Battalion Landing Team-2 (MBLT-2), deployed troops to track down the fleeing bandits who are dragging along with them Notre Dame High School teacher Omar Taup.
Oblates of Mary Immaculate (OMI) priest Fr. Jesus Reynaldo Roda, the director of Notre Dame High School in Tabawan island, South Ubian, Tawi-Tawi, was killed by the gunmen at around 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday while Taup was hogtied and brought along by the gunmen.
The gunmen, numbering around 10 people, barged into the Notre Dame compound with the intent of kidnapping Fr. Roda, who resisted. This prompted the gunmen to shoot the priest.
Western Mindanao Command (Westmincom) chief Lieutenant General Nelson Allaga has ordered Larin to coordinate with Tawi-Tawi policemen who have also launched pursuit operations for the arrest of the bandits and rescue of the Notre Dame high school teacher.
"This only shows that this armed group does not respect any religion and continues to bring chaos in this part of the country." Allaga said.
Allaga condemned the killing of Fr. Roda.
Personnel from the Naval Task Force 62, which has operational jurisdiction over the 107 islands and islets of Tawi-Tawi, are helping ground troops by scouring the seawaters around the province in pursuit of the gunmen.
Major Eugenio Batara Jr., information officer of Westmincom, disclosed that there had been previous kidnapping attempts on prominent personalities by the Abu Sayyaf bandits but such moves were successfully foiled by military and police operatives.
The remains of Fr. Roda was transported by a Philippine Navy boat to the town of Bongao, Tawi-Tawi's capital, from Tabawan Island, which is three to four hours away from the province's capital.
Fr. Roda, who was an anti-terrorism advocate, had been receiving kidnapping threats since last year from an unidentified group.
He was the third Roman Catholic missionary killed under the Apostolic Vicariate of Jolo that covers the provinces of Sulu and Tawi-Tawi.
The first was Bishop Benjamin De Jesus who was killed by still unidentified gunmen in 1997 in the town of Jolo, the capital of Sulu province.
Another Roman Catholic missionary, Fr. Benjie Inocencio, was also killed three years after Bishop De Jesus's killing, also in Sulu, where troops are continuously pursuing the remaining leaders and members of the Abu Sayyaf group. (Sunnex)
For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Dumaguete. (January 17, 2008 issue)
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