Visayas clergymen call for justice for slain Italian priest

ILOILO CITY, Philippines — Bishops and priests in the Visayas have joined calls for justice for murdered Italian priest Fr. Fausto Tentorio.

In a statement, the Visayas Clergy Discernment Group (VCDG) also called on the Aquino government to ensure justice for Tentorio’s murder.

“The manner of how he was murdered unmasks the culture of death that has pervaded the Philippine society. His killing is another number added to the more than 50 victims of extra-judicial killings since President Benigno Aquino III took office,” according to the statement issued by Jaro Auxiliary Bishop Gerardo Alminaza, VCDG head convenor.

A lone gunman shot dead Tentorio on Oct. 17 in a church compound in Arakan town in North Cotabato.

Tentorio, 59, was a known anti-mining advocate who lived and worked closely with indigenous people‘s communities.

The Visayas-based clergy honored the slain priest for his work as a rural missionary and for devoting his life as an anti-mining and human rights advocate despite threats to his life.

“He helped and worked with the indigenous peoples in opposing the operation of large-scale plantations and mining which would harm them. As a human rights advocate, he joined in calling for justice for slain human rights workers and farmers in Central Mindanao in 2002,” according to the statement.

The VCDG said Tentorio‘s murder would “fan the daring and courage of those who care about peace and justice enough to sacrifice themselves.”

The group said the murder of the priest highlighted the harassment of the clergy men with advocacies.

“His death must wake us in our slumber and passivity. How many more people should die before we unite in putting an end to this culture of impunity?” said the statement.

The VCDG also called for justice for other slain and abducted priests including Fr. Cecilio Lucero, who was murdered in Northern Samar on Sept. 6, 2009; Fr. Nery Satur, who was shot dead in Bukidnon on Oct. 14, 1991; and Fr. Rudy Romano who remains missing after he was abducted on July 11, 1985 in Cebu.

It noted that most of the perpetrators of attacks on the clergy and other sectors have not been brought to justice.

“We call on the Aquino government and its pertinent agencies to investigate and find justice to the death of Father Fausto so that it can significantly differentiate itself from the previous administration. Otherwise, its slogans of “change and the straight path” will remain empty,” the group said.