NEARLY half a million pesos will be given by both the provincial and city governments to the special children’s center founded by kidnapped Columban priest Michael Sinnott here.
The total amount is P400,000—half of which was supposedly the reward money for informants who could tell where Sinnott and his abductors were after the 79-year old priest was kidnapped last Oct. 11.
Sources from both the military and the MILF said that the Irish cleric was somewhere in the boundaries of Lanao del Norte and Lanao del Sur the whole time.
Governor Aurora Cerilles said the provincial government counterparted another P200,000 after concurrence with the Crisis Management Committee (CMC) she created to supervisor rescue efforts for the priest.
Actually, it was upon the request of Bishop Emmanuel Cabajar during CMC’s meeting with the media that the unused reward money is given instead to the Hangop Kabataan Foundation.
It was learned that Hangop Kabataan has been relying mainly on financial donations from generous organizations and individuals from the locality and that Sinnott’s kidnapping has temporarily affected its daily plans and programs.
Last Tuesday, the City Council amended its resolution authorizing Mayor Samuel Co to utilize the P200,000 not as monetary reward anymore but as financial assistance to the Hangop Kabataan Foundation.
Given the Columban priest’s old age and delicate heart condition, he founded and served as coordinator of Hangop Kabataan as his advocacy for the welfare of children with disabilities, especially those with hearing and learning difficulties, to lead productive lives.
REPORT BY JONG CADION
