A Philippine general Saturday denied allegations he colluded with Abu Sayyaf kidnappers holding 18 Filipino and American hostages.
Brigadier General Romeo Dominguez also hinted that his accuser, a Catholic priest, had something to hide.
But he could not explain to a congressional committee how the Abu Sayyaf escaped from a military cordon in Lamitan town on the island of Basilan on June 2.
Dominguez was given an intense grilling by the congressmen who are looking into allegations by a Catholic priest, Father Cirilo Nacorda, that Dominguez and four officers colluded with the Abu Sayyaf to help them escape.
"I did not order my men to allow the Abu Sayyaf group to escape," said Dominguez. He denied suggestions that he received a share of the ransom allegedly collected by the Abu Sayyaf.
The members of the House of Representatives had met Nacorda on Friday and held a closed-door session with about 20 witnesses presented by the priest who provided accounts of the alleged collusion.
Congressman Prospero Pichay, head of the inquiry, said: "The witnesses are afraid for their lives and if something happens to them, we know who is to blame."
The Abu Sayyaf, with many of their hostages in tow, occupied Nacorda's church and an adjoining hospital in the Basilan town of Lamitan on June 2.
Despite being surrounded by the military, the kidnappers escaped by walking out the back door of a hospital, taking most of the hostages and four hospital workers with them.
Soldiers guarding the back of the hospital were inexplicably withdrawn just before the Abu Sayyaf fled, fanning suspicions of collusion.
Dominguez said he was not at the scene when the Abu Sayyaf fled and questioned whether the kidnappers really escaped so easily.
He said the accounts of Nacorda and his witnesses were all hearsay, adding that it was suspicious that the priest was able to escape from the raid unscathed.
The congressmen said that the witnesses who spoke in the closed-door session told them that during the siege at Lamitan, a ransom was paid for three hostages who were later allowed to escape.
The witnesses also said that while in the hospital, Abu Sayyaf leader Abu Sabaya was heard talking on a telephone, negotiating with someone.
The troops guarding the rear of the hospital were later pulled out, allowing the Abu Sayyaf to walk out with their captives, the congressmen quoted the witnesses as saying.
Dominguez said he did not know who issued an order for the troops to withdraw, adding "I did not order that. I do not believe anyone would give that kind of order."
He said soldiers at the back of the hospital could have fallen back to avoid being hit by rockets being fired by the army at the hospital.
The Senate and the defense department are also conducting their own separate investigations into the incident.
The hearing, held at a college in the Basilan capital of Isabela attracted hundreds of people still angry over the military's failure to crush the Abu Sayyaf.
"Finish off the Abu Sayyaf," one banner read.
Since their escape from Lamitan, the Abu Sayyaf have freed some of their hostages reportedly in exchange for hefty ransom payments, taken more captives and killed 14 Filipinos they abducted.
They are also believed to have killed one of their three American hostages, Californian Guillermo Sobero, although his body has not been found.
They are still holding American missionary couple Martin and Gracia Burnham and 16 Filipinos despite the deployment of over 5,000 troops to Basilan to track them down -- ISABELA, Philippines (AFP)
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