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WIFE THANKS GOD AND ESTRADA FOR EVANGELIST´S RETURN FROM EXTREMISTS

Updated: October 03, 2000 05:00 PM GMT
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The wife of evangelist Wilde Almeda thanked God and President Joseph Estrada Oct. 3 for the return of Almeda and fellow preachers, as some of them spoke of the end of their time with extremists and hostages.

Estrada presented to the media Almeda and 11 members of the evangelist´s Jesus Miracle Crusade (JMC) who he said were "recovered" Oct. 2 by the military in Talipao, Jolo Island, 950 kilometers south of Manila.

Almeda, believed to have suffered a stroke while leading his group´s prayer and fast in an Abu Sayyaf extremist camp in Talipao, was brought to Malacanang, the presidential palace in Manila, on a stretcher with oxygen support. His weight had reportedly dropped to some 37 kilograms from about 90.

"Our sincerest thanks, first of all to our Great God Almighty, and secondly to his Excellency Honorable President Joseph Ejercito Estrada with special acknowledgment (of) his officers in command," read a letter from JMC assistant pastor Lina Almeda, Wilde´s wife.

Abu Sayyaf leader Galib Andang, known as Commander Robot, allowed the JMC group into his faction´s camp July 1 after the group gave them money and food.

The preachers went there to pray over 21 hostages seized from Sipadan Island, Malaysia, and held by the Abu Sayyaf in Talipao. All but a Filipino hostage in that group have been freed, about half of them foreign tourists.

Rescued JMC member Alvin Flores told the press conference, that the military rescue operation Estrada ordered "helped, because it scared the Abu Sayyaf."

He said that after the military attacked Talipao Sept. 16, the JMC group hid in a cave where they continued to pray. Abu Sayyaf men later brought them to different places in the jungle near the camp, he recalled.

According to Flores, a JMC member who broke away from the group as Abu Sayyaf members fled the continuing military attack was found by soldiers.

Shortly after, the military came into the area where the JMC group was, and the Abu Sayyaf men watching them fled after a firefight, he said.

He stressed, though, that Commander Robot called them "visitors." The JMC had insisted that the group was not being held hostage as the government said.

Flores told the press conference that the Abu Sayyaf "want a new life" and deserve forgiveness, but he added that the laws of the land should also apply.

In late August Bishop Romulo de la Cruz of Isabela, Basilan, northeast of Jolo, praised Almeda and his followers for their "courage" while saying that their entry into the Abu Sayyaf camp could have been "imprudent."

"Prayers can be said wherever we are and with similar effects," he said, adding that some Christians proclaim their faith "in a different manner alongside the dialogue aspect."

"Our services and economic development programs are very often our way of proclaiming that we are doing all this for and with the Muslims because this is what Jesus wants us to do," Bishop de la Cruz observed.

This way of witnessing "is a powerful means of proclamation," he said.

Most of the 268,500 people in the area his prelature covers are Muslims. One of his priests and several teachers among some 50 children and school staff kidnapped in March by an Abu Sayyaf faction based in Basilan were killed.

Bishop Angelito Lampon of Jolo said he also admired and respected the faith and courage of Almeda and his group. "I confess I do not have such courage and faith," Bishop Lampon told UCA News.

In comments not related to the JMC, the bishop said that people in Jolo risk their lives daily just by being there. "Our own ´drama´ unfolds and will continue to unfold long after the Sipadan kidnapping has faded," he said.

After the military operation to rescue the JMC group, three Malaysians, two French journalists, a Filipino and an American held by various Abu Sayyaf factions was launched, Lina Almeda led a street protest against military bombings in Jolo, decrying the violence and civilian injuries and deaths.

Almeda, 67, founded the JMC in 1977, claiming that he had received a message from God to spread God´s word, a JMC member earlier told UCA News. That member claimed that "active" crusade members numbered 4 million to 5 million.

Almeda supported an Estrada opponent in the 1998 presidential election and announced during the pre-election campaign period that he would shoot himself if Estrada won.

END

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