MANILA — Catholic prelates on Sunday expressed gratitude to government forces for the rescue of Fr. Teresito “Chito” Suganob and another man held hostage by Islamic State-inspired Maute group in May.
“Good news talaga. Nagpasalamat ako sa mga sundalo na naka-rescue kay Fr. Chito at isang teacher yata ng Dansalan (College). Na-rescue sila at kaming lahat dito ay natutuwa. Talagang answered prayers. Talagang palagi naming ipinagdarasal. Ngayon malaya na sila. Thanks be to God (It is really good news. I thank the soldiers who rescued Fr. Chito and a teacher at Dansalan College. We are happy that they were rescued. It is indeed an answered prayer. We always pray for them. They are free now.),” Iligan Bishop Elenito Galido said in an interview over Church-run Radio Veritas.
Galido noted that as of the moment, they have not been informed as to how the hostages were rescued.
“Hindi pa namin siya nakita, bago lang ito. Hindi namin alam kung nasaan siya, kung nasa Marawi o dalhin sa Manila (We haven’t seen him. We just knew now. We don’t know where he is, if he is in Marawi or he will be brought to Manila),” he added.
On the other hand, Ozamiz Archbishop Martin Jumoad lauded the safe release of the hostages, noting that the power of prayer prevailed.
“So many are praying for his freedom. So many Masses are celebrated for that intention,” he said in an article posted on the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) news website.
The Mindanao prelate added, “The power of prayer is once again shown as a witness of our solid faith in God.”
The rescue of Fr. Chito was confirmed Sunday by Presidential Peace Adviser Jesus Dureza.
Dureza, in his Facebook post, said the update was relayed to him by his staff in the Office of the Presidential Peace Adviser on Peace Process (OPAPP) based in Iligan City.
Dureza said that Fr. Chito was rescued at 11 p.m. Saturday at the Bato Mosque.
“For (information), si Fr. Chito Suganob, together with one other, were rescued by troops near Bato mosque at ooa 162300hsept2017 (sic). This is the 2nd grand mosque in Marawi that has been taken over by our troops. To those who would wish to get more details, pls wait for the official announcement coming from the AFP and or the Palace in order not to jeopardize the ongoing mil (military) operations (sic),” part of Dureza’s Facebook post read.
It was learned that the Maute terrorist group was forced to abandon the Bato Mosque in Marawi City, which is one of the three strongholds of the terrorists recovered by the government in the past days, due to tensified military operations in the area.
Fr. Chito, along with the parish secretary and some 10 parishioners, were taken hostage by the Maute group when they took siege of Marawi City on May 23, 2017. | PNA
