Michael Medina
Online editor
TUBOD, LANAO DEL NORTE: ITALIAN priest Giancarlo Bossi was released Thursday 9 p.m. in Karumatan, Lanao Del Norte, after more than a month in captivity.
He was barefoot and wearing a black jacket and loose brown trousers when found by authorities
Bossi’s release came the evening before the July 20 launching of the implementation of the anti-terror law, RA 9372 or Human Security Act, and just a few days before the July 23 annual State of the Nation Address of President Arroyo.
He looked thinner than before, losing 10 to 15 pounds. He said he lost weight because he was made to eat only salt and rice. He also suffered diarrhea for a few days.
Bossi was made to undergo medical examinations and rest at Camp Cawa-Cawa in Zamboanga City last Friday. As of press time, is set to meet Italian Ambassador Rubens Anna Fedele in Manila.
The 57-year-old priest was abducted while on his way to his parish in Payao, Zamboanga Sibugay last June 10 and was said to have been kept most of the time in Lanao del Norte.
Her said his abductors would move him from place to place in Lanao and that at times he would walk barefoot.
Since his abduction, he was believed to have been brought to Lanao. “It had always been Lanao,” ABS-CBN News Channel (ANC) quoted him as saying in a press conference.
Fourteen Marines sent to Tipo-Tipo, Basilan to search for him were killed in an encounter with Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) rebels. The MILF claimed the Marines entered their area without informing them.
The Italian priest said the group who kidnapped him identified themselves as members of the Abu Sayyaf. He added that there were 11 kidnappers holding him at the beginning but eventually only five remained.
MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu denied the group was responsible, and rebel Vice Chairman Ghazali Jaafar promised they would coordinate with the government in investigating whether two possible suspects have ties with the guerrillas.
According DILG Sec. Ronaldo Puno, no ransom was paid for Bossi’s release although the priest said something about a P50-million ransom being demanded but he did not say if it was paid.
Former mayor Hajarun Jamiri of Tuburan, Basilan reportedly helped in the negotiations.
Meanwhile, Bossi admitted that he did not expect that he would be released because the two Italian priests kidnapped before him, Giuseppe Pierantoni and Luciano Benedetti, were held for more than two months.
For his part, Zamboanga-based Claretian priest Angel Calvo said Bossi will likely remain in the Philippines, saying it is a policy among missionaries to go back to the area of their mission.
“It is a policy among us missionaries, on principle we come back to the area of our mission, not necessarily in the same place. It’s not the first time a missionary has been kidnapped. We come back and serve the people in our community. There are many places to continue serving the people in the Philippines,” he said.