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Priest shot at Catholic school
16/01/2008 11:27 - (SA)
Manila - Gunmen barged into a Roman Catholic school in the southernmost Philippine province and fatally shot a priest who had received death threats from Muslim militants, church and police officials said on Wednesday.
About 10 masked gunmen seized Reynaldo Roda from his mission on remote Tawi-Tawi island late on Tuesday and shot him dead after police tried to stop them, police Chief Superintendent Joel Goltiao said.
A male teacher from the school, Omar Taup, was abducted and computers were stolen, he said.
The attackers brought Roda to a speedboat about a kilometre from the school when a police team caught up with them and engaged them in an hour-long gunfight, Goltiao said.
"Before the encounter, a gunshot was heard. Father Roda's body was found bathed in his own blood. He died on the spot," he said.
The suspects escaped toward the island's interior and soldiers and police launched a manhunt to free the hostage, Goltiao said.
Death threats
He suspected bandits were responsible, saying they were behind a series of computer thefts at the school where Roda stayed.
But the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines said in a statement that Roda had received death threats from the al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf group, which has gained notoriety for bomb attacks, kidnappings and hostage beheadings.
Priests and missionaries have often been the target of Muslim extremists who have waged a decades-long insurgency for self-rule in the predominantly Catholic Philippines.
- AP
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