Officials of the Catholic Church had sent an emissary to the kidnappers of Irish missionary priest Michael Sinnott two days ago to try to deliver his medication, a provincial government official disclosed Friday. Allan Molde, spokesperson of the Zamboanga del Sur Crisis Management Committee (CMC), said the emissary's identity was being withhelad for security reasons.
Molde said the initiative was fully known to the committee.
Apart from delivering the medicines, the man was also asked to provide ‘proof of life’ of Sinnott.
As of Friday evening, there is no word yet whether the medicines actually reached the ailing priest, said Molde.
The ‘medicine mission’ sent last Wednesday is not the first one undertaken by the Catholic Church.
Throughout the past 12 days of Sinnott’s abduction, Molde said Pagadian diocesan bishop Emmanuel Cabajar had already dispatched several of such emissaries in areas where there is high likelihood the kidnapped priest may be kept.
A source told the Inquirer the areas where emissaries were sent included villages in Zamboanga Sibugay, the Baganian Peninsula in Zamboanga del Sur, Sultan Naga Dimaporo town in Lanao del Norte, and Lanao del Sur.
In all these medicine missions, Cabajar had yet to update the CMC of feedbacks from the emissaries, said Molde.
Molde said that since the beginning of the crisis, Cabajar had requested that the Church be given liberty to initiate the delivery of medicines for Sinnott.
“And the request sits well with the CMC, whose members also agreed that Sinnott’s health is of utmost importance,” Molde clarified.
He clarified that there is no contact made yet between authorities and the kidnappers.
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