Priest taken hostage by IS goes free

MANILA: A Catholic priest kidnapped by Islamic State (IS) supporters when they occupied parts of a southern Philippine city nearly four months ago smiled and called for prayers yesterday after escaping.

Father Teresito Soganob appeared at a press conference at military headquarters in Manila after he was rescued late on Saturday, when the military said it overran the militants’ control centre inside a mosque in Marawi city on Mindanao island.

“Thank you and I pray for you, God bless you all. Pray for me, for my recovery,” said Father Soganob, commonly known as “Father Chito”, as he smiled and waved to reporters.

In jocular mood despite his ordeal, the heavily bearded but apparently well-fed Father Soganob declared: “I am physically strong and handsome. That’s it for now.”

Hundreds of gunmen rampaged through Marawi, the main Muslim city in the mostly Catholic Philippines, on May 23 and then occupied key districts in what authorities said was an attempt to establish a Southeast Asian base for the IS in the Philippines.

More than 800 people have been killed and large parts of Marawi have been destroyed in the ensuing fighting, which has seen the militants defy a US-backed military campaign that has included heavy bombing.

Father Soganob was taken hostage along with about 13 parishioners from a Marawi cathedral on the first day of the fighting. The militants later released a video showing themselves vandalising the cathedral.

A video released by his captors in late May showed Father Soganob standing in the rubble of buildings in Marawi asking President Rodrigo Duterte to withdraw troops and stop the military offensive.

Father Soganob said at the time the gunmen were holding 240 “prisoners of war”, including teachers, carpenters and household workers. They were mostly Christians and tribespeople.