Bishops to gov’t: Stop mining to end violence vs advocates

MANILA, Philippines—Outraged by the murder of Italian missionary Fr. Fausto Tentorio, some Catholic bishops and church groups on Tuesday exhorted the government to finally make a clear stand against mining to stop the endless violence on environmentalists and anti-mining advocates.

Marbel Bishop Dinualdo Gutierrez said Tentorio was a strong defender of the indigenous peoples in Arakan, who were being imperiled by mining activities in the valley. “Maybe because of that he was killed.”

“My advice to the government is not to allow mining activities anymore especially in areas where there is strong opposition to it,” said Gutierrez over Church-run Radio Veritas on Tuesday.

Among the areas in Mindanao where mining activities continued to denude forested mountains rich in biodiversity are South Cotabato, Saranggani, Davao del Sur and Sultan Kudarat, according to Gutierrez.

“The government should no longer allow mining like this because we will also continue to [oppose it] and I don’t know if they (mining firms) are hiring killers or whatever, but I am worried that one of us would get killed again,” said Gutierrez.

“So I think the government should take a very clear stand already,” he said.

Tentorio, a member of the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions, was gunned down by still unidentified men in a church compound in Arakan town on Monday.

His family in Santa Maria de Robagnate, in Lecco province, Italy, was informed of his untimely death Monday night, according to CBCPNews, the official news service of the Church hierarchy. The family also received a visit from the PIME superior in Milan.

Aside from Gutierrez, many others believed that Tentorio’s brutal death had something to do with his community work that mainly involved advocating against mining in Arakan in North Cotabato.

Msgr. Pedro Quitorio, media director of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, said a former parish staff member of the 59-year-old Italian priest called him up on Tuesday to tell him that the latter’s death was possibly related to his anti-mining campaign.

He received the call during his radio program at Radio Veritas, said Quitorio in an interview with reporters. The former parish worker also said that there were two mining firms in Arakan, where Tentorio had strongly opposed ventures that would harm the indigenous peoples.