Philippine archbishop notes Muslim efforts to free hostage in Iraq

Published: 2004-07-13

MANILA, Philippines (CNS) -- The president of the Philippine bishops' conference said 32 Islamic scholars from the Mindanao region have appealed for the release of a Filipino worker kidnapped in Iraq. Archbishop Fernando Capalla of Davao told reporters July 12 at conference headquarters in Manila that a government official briefed him on efforts to free Angelo de la Cruz, whom Iraqi militants have threatened to behead unless Philippine troops withdraw from Iraq, reported UCA News, an Asian church news agency based in Thailand. Archbishop Capalla, co-convener of the Bishops-Ulama (Islamic scholars) Conference in the southern Philippines, also said fellow co-convener Mahid Mutilan, vice governor of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, appealed via satellite television to an Iraqi Muslim leader after meeting with de la Cruz's family. The vice governor was flown to Clark Field in Pampanga, where he made the appeal. The de la Cruz family is from a farming community about 40 miles northwest of Manila.

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