Malacañang sees the hand of either the Abu Sayyaf Group or the special operations group of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front in the kidnapping of Irish priest Michael Sinnott last Sunday, which the MILF promptly denied as it offered help to secure the priest’s freedom.

Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said it is “highly probable”

that the two groups have something to do with the abduction of the 78-year-old priest who was seized by six unidentified suspects from the Columban House in Pagadian City in Zamboanga del Sur Sunday night.

President Arroyo has ordered the Department of National Defense (DND) and the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) to immediately deploy special operatives to secure the release of Sinnott, who is in poor health after heart surgery in 2007.

The Palace official said they also activated a task force to look into the abduction and bring the perpetrators to justice.

“We are alarmed by the kidnapping.

The President directed the DND and DILG to immediately dispatch special operatives for the safe recovery of the Irish priest,” Ermita told in a press briefing in Dagupan City where the Cabinet held its meeting Tuesday.

“We won’t leave no stones unturned,” he said.

The 12,000-strong MILF said it is willing to assist the military and police in hunting down the kidnappers, rebel spokesman Eid Kabalu told Agence France Press from his base in the south.

''We are not involved in this, and we see no reason why our men should be involved in this,'' Kabalu said, stressing that his group was set to resume peace talks with the government.

''We don't know who is behind this, but what is important is that we are willing to cooperate and assist the government look for him (Sinnott) for humanitarian reasons,'' Kabalu insisted.

He noted that, as a confidence-building mechanism, the MILF had in the past helped the government track down wanted criminals in Mindanao.

MILF commanders on the ground have been told to report any sightings of Sinnott and his abductors and to coordinate quickly with the rebel leadership, which will then relay the information to government negotiators, Kabalu said.

''The abduction appears to have been planned, and carried out surgically,'' Kabalu said.

The MILF has been waging a rebellion since 1978 for an independent Muslim homeland in the south of this Roman Catholic Southeast Asian nation.

Peace talks broke down last year after large-scale fighting broke out, but both sides have agreed to resume talks soon.

The Abu Sayyaf was set up in the early 1990s, allegedly with Al-Qaeda seed money, to also fight for a Muslim state and has been responsible for many kidnappings in the south, as well as the nation's biggest terrorist attacks.

Meanwhile, the Philippine National Police said it has created a special task force to track down Sinnott’s abductors.

Dubbed as Task Force Zebra, the group will serve as a coordinative body on the part of the police to deal with the Sinnott kidnapping.

“Task Force Zebra was activated to coordinate all police and military operations to rescue Father Michael Sinnott,” said Police Director Felizardo Serapio, head of the PNP Directorate for Integrated Police Operations in Western Mindanao.

PNP Director General Jesus Verzosa said they have already coordinated with the military in the massive manhunt and rescue operations for Sinnott.

“Police maneuver units in Western Mindanao were alerted to intercept the kidnappers of Father Michael Sinnott and to rescue him,” said Verzosa.

“PNP and AFP units in neighboring provinces have also been alerted,” he added.

The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines on the other hand said it is praying for the safe and immediate release of the Irish priest.

CBCP president Jaro Archbishop Angel Lagdameo said it is their prayer that Sinnott will be released by his captors in the shortest time as possible.

“We all appeal to the captors to release him. He’s an old man and sickly... out of compassion and mercy we strongly appeal for his safe release,” he said in a statement. (With reports from Leslie Ann Aquino, Ellson Quismorio and AFP)