MANILA, Philippines?The military has fortified naval blockades in Lanao del Sur and Lanao del Norte to prevent the escape of Irish priest Father Michael Sinnott?s abductors, the military said Thursday.

In a briefing Thursday, Armed Forces spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Romeo Brawner, Jr. said that the Philippine Navy has sent four vessels to serve as naval barricades off the coasts of the two Lanao province.

?We have infused more troops in the area to make sure the kidnappers won?t escape,? Brawner said.

The military on Wednesday said a notorious pirate had kidnapped Sinnott, 79, from his home in the Columban House in Pagadian City Sunday night.

Brawner said the abductors were within the areas of Lanao del Sur and Lanao del Norte. But he added there was a possibility the abductors would move southwestward towards Basilan.

As of Wednesday, more than a thousand soldiers had been sent to the area, he said.