COTABATO CITY, Philippines—The Moro Islamic Liberation Front on Thursday rejected a challenge by the government to surface a commander being accused of holding Irish priest Michael Sinnott.
Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita asked the MILF to prove its sincerity by presenting Commander Aloy Al Ashree, whom Interior Secretary Ronaldo Puno had tagged as the one keeping the foreign missionary.
He said that such a move would prove that the MILF was really bent on helping in government efforts to safely recover the priest, who was abducted on October 11 from the Columban House in Pagadian City.
But Mohagher Iqbal, chief negotiator for the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, told the Philippine Daily Inquirer by phone that there were no mechanisms under the peace talks for them to produce their men implicated in criminal activities.
The MILF also said Al Ashree was the one helping in the efforts to recover the priest.
“It’s complicated. He might be arrested if he shows up before the [Zamboanga Del Sur] crisis management committee. Besides, Puno said before that the government is contemplating on filing charges against Al Ashree,” Iqbal said.
“Maybe we can surface him [Al Asree] in extreme cases like in panel-to-panel meetings but not with any groups,” he added.
