Manila, Philippines - Gunmen ransacked a Roman Catholic school in the southernmost Philippine province, fatally shooting a priest who had received death threats from Muslim militants and abducting a teacher, officials said Wednesday.
About 10 masked gunmen seized Reynaldo Roda from his mission on remote Tawi-Tawi island on late Tuesday and shot him dead after police tried to stop them, police Chief Superintendent Joel Goltiao. A male teacher, Omar Taup, was abducted and computers stolen, he said.
The attackers brought Roda to a speedboat about a mile 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. We believe they shot Father Roda," he said. "Father Roda's body was found bathed in his own blood. He died on the spot."
The suspects escaped toward the island's interior and army and police troops launched a manhunt to free the hostage, Goltiao said. He suspected bandits, 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-Qaida-linked Abu Sayyaf group, which has gained notoriety for bomb attacks, kidnappings and beheadings of hostages.
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.
Tawi-Tawi, a mostly Muslim island province, has been largely spared violence that has engulfed neighboring Jolo and Basilan islands, strongholds of the Abu Sayyaf. Despite U.S.-backed offensives targeting the Abu Sayyaf militants, they remain a major threat. Officials estimate their number is down to about 300 guerrillas, from roughly 1,000 in 2001.
Roda, 55, had been running the Notre Dame High School in Tabawan township for 10 years. It has at least 30 students, who were unhurt, church officials said.
Archbishop Orlando Quevedo condemned the killing and said Roda's death is a loss in a campaign to bring peace to remote areas of the archipelago.
Roda's fellow priest, Jonathan Domingo, described the slain missionary as a "vocal advocate against terrorism and graft and corruption in the province." He always championed the cause of the poor, he said.
The largest Muslim separatist group, Moro Islamic Liberation Front, which is currently engaged in peace talks with the government, condemned the raid.
"We condemn this killing in the strongest possible terms and the killers deserve hell for their barbaric act," said Sheik Mohammad Muntassir, head of the group's religious committee.
Ramon Bernabe, head of the Catholic order of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate, said Roda was the third Catholic missionary killed in the south in recent years.
In 1997, unidentified gunmen killed Bishop Benjamin de Jesus, and in 2000, priest Benjie Inocenio was shot dead, also in Sulu province that includes Jolo islands.
Last year, gunmen held for a month Italian priest Giancarlo Bossi on nearby Mindanao island, before he was released unharmed. Police denied a ransom was paid.