MANILA - Fr. Chito Soganub took advantage of lax security to make good his escape from Maute terrorists after nearly four months in captivity, the city's bishop said Monday.

Speaking to ANC, Bishop Edwin Dela Peña said Soganub told him how they were able to escape the terrorists guarding them before they were spotted and rescued by soldiers on September 16.

"The [terrorists] guarding them were kind of loose on their watch. They were able to escape. The soldiers recognized them from a distance and they were rescued," Dela Peña said.

In a separate interview, Soganub said he and the other hostages ate mostly canned goods and instant noodles while in captivity even as government forces worked hard to rescue them from the extremists.

"Usually sardines, tuna, noodles, meat loaf, corned beef, canned goods. Marami. Pero nung nasunog 'yung buildings dahil sa war, na-scarce na rin ang supply," he said.

He said the food he misses most are vegetables, meat, chicken - food that was unavailable during the siege in Marawi.

The priest also noted that some of the extremists were forced to raid houses for food when supplies went low.

Soganub, the vicar general of Marawi territorial prelature, was abducted by Maute terrorists along with other civilians while at the compound of the Cathedral of St. Mary at the start of the siege.

The priest and another civilian were rescued after government troops recovered the Bato mosque in Marawi City.

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Dela Peña said the prelature of Marawi is already preparing a program that would help the priest recover from his trauma before going back to his duties for the church.

"We are preparing programs for his rehabilitation and eventual reintegration to the ministry but we're giving him space. We're not in a hurry," he said.

Fr. Soganub, who faced the press earlier, asked the public to pray for his recovery from trauma. He also thanked everyone who prayed for him during his captivity.

"Sa lahat, salamat at saka I pray for you, God bless you all. Pray for me, for trauma healing recovery. Thank you very much, God bless you all," he said after gesturing a sign of the cross.

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