Marawi City: After being held hostage by the Islamic State Militants, a Catholic priest from the Philippines reveals about the treatment metted out to him during the three months stay. Rev. Fr. Chito Suganob, who was abducted by the ISIS terrorists confesses that he was forced to make bombs, after being tortured and threatened for days and weeks. Fr. Suganob was abducted with five other catholic priests on 23rd May 2017 when Marawi was under the control of ISIS. He said that the captivated people were held hostage at Banto Mosque in Marawi.
Fr. Suganob recounts that he woke up by the gunshot firing on the day he was abducted. Subsequently, he received messages and alerts from his fellow catholic and Islamic friends to leave the city, yet he chose to continue to live in Marawi and surrendered everything unto God’s will. As per his statement, the terrorists were trying to impose Islamic practices upon the hostages all throughout their period of captivity. He stated that the terrorists wanted to impose a Khalifat in Marawi and cleanse it by keeping off all non-muslims as Marawi is a Muslim province.
Fr. Suganob admitted that apart from cleaning floors, cooking and other domestic chores, he was also involved in making bombs for terrorist groups due to brutal beatings and threats to life. During his time in hostage, the priest recounts to have witnessed more than 100 airstrikes led by the ISIS groups. Though Fr. Suganob is serving in a nearby place due to the persistent threats from the terrorists, he still offers Holy Qurbana in Marawi regularly. The catholic priest still believes that peace will exist among the Christian and the Muslim community in Marawi and that the days of good hope, will come soon.
(Source: www.pravachakashabdam.com)
