The foreign nationals abducted in Mindanao on Sept. 21. (Photo supplied by the Armed Forces of the Philippines)
A Catholic bishops' conference official has criticized the Philippine government’s security record, calling the kidnapping of three foreign nationals and a Filipino woman in Mindanao on Sept. 21 a national "embarrassment."
"[The incident] shows [the government]'s inability to guarantee the safety of people," said Father Jerome Secillano, executive secretary of the public affairs committee of the bishops' conference.
The priest said the abductions have created a "bad impression" of the Philippines at a time when world leaders are due to come to the country for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in November.
"While the world leaders ... will definitely be secure, they would, I think, be very concerned about the safety of their own citizens residing in our country," Secillano told ucanews.com in an interview.
Gunmen stormed a posh resort on Samal Island in Davao del Norte on Sept. 21 and abducted Kjartan Sekkingstad, the Norwegian resort owner. The gunmen also took with them Canadian nationals John Ridsdel and Robert Hall as well as Hall's girlfriend Tess, a Filipino woman.
Ridsdel is a former senior vice-president and chief executive officer of TVI Resource Development Philippines Inc, an affiliate of TVI Pacific Inc, a Canadian mining company.
Philippine authorities said 11 gunmen seized the four and escaped by boat.
"We have yet to identify the group who carried this out," military spokesman Col. Restituto Padilla said.
Secillano noted that the kidnappings came at a time when the Philippine government is pressing for peace in the southern Philippines.
"It exposes the fact that the place is home to many rogue forces," the priest said, adding that authorities should not relax in their security efforts.
The presidential palace, however, said the abductions were "a very isolated case."
"The police and military authorities are doing their level best to track and arrest the perpetrators so they can be brought to the bar of justice, and they are working for the early and safe release of those that were abducted," government spokesman Herminio Coloma Jr. said.