ZAMBOANGA CITY—The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) is sending members of its Ad Hoc Joint Action Group (Ahjag) to Zamboanga Sibugay to help recover kidnapped Italian priest Fr. Giancarlo Bossi.

Lawyer Abdul Dataya, MILF Ahjag chairman, said he will send two of the committee members to coordinate with their counterparts in the government to ensure the early recovery of Bossi, the parish priest of Payao, Zamboanga Sibugay.

Ahjag is composed of representatives from the military and the MILF and is tasked to neutralize lawless elements hiding in Mindanao, so as not to disrupt the on going peace talks between the government and the separatist movement.

Dataya is coordinating with Maj. Gen. Benjamin Dolorfino, his government counterpart, to map out plans for the safe recovery of Bossi.

He hopes that Bossi would be recovered on or before June 21, the deadline of Ahjag’s mandate.

Bossi, 57, of the Pontificio Istituto Missioni Estere (Pime), was seized on Sunday while on his way to celebrate Mass in barangay Bulawan, Payao town. 

Fr. Sebastiano DiAmbra, another Pime priest, said his congregation as well as government forces are monitoring an area in Zamboanga Sibugay, where the victim may have been taken “although we don’t have the exact location yet.”

Zamboanga Sibugay is composed of 16 towns, 13 of which are located in the province’s coastal area.

“Most probably he [Bossi] is still in the area, not far from where he was abducted,” DiAmbra said.

He said Pime has several friends who are helping in the search and rescue operations.

Senior Supt. Francisco Cristobal, Zamboanga Sibugay police commander, said search teams have tapped barangay officials to help them locate Bossi and his kidnappers.

“I strongly believe that he is still in the province,” Cristobal said.

Cristobal said no group has claimed responsibility for the kidnapping.

But both the military and MILF have said that the abductors are led by Akiddin Abdusalam, who is believed to have ties with the al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf.

The regional head of Pime, Fr. Giani Sandlao, and other PIME priests are set to meet with military and police authorities in Zamboanga Sibugay to get first hand information on the incident.

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ZAMBOANGA CITY—The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) is sending members of its Ad Hoc Joint Action Group (Ahjag) to Zamboanga Sibugay to help recover kidnapped Italian priest Fr. Giancarlo Bossi.

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