Malacañang condemned on Monday the killing of Fr. Richmond Nilo of the Diocese of Cabanatuan and assured the public its commitment to serve justice to the slain priest.
“Kinokondena po natin iyang pagpatay dito sa pari na taga Nueva Ecija,” Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said in a Palace briefing.
“Talaga pong bibigyan natin ng prayoridad ang pag-iimbestiga ng pagkapatay kay Father at nababahala po ang gobyerno dahil gaya ng pagpatay sa isang mamamahayag, kapag pinatay mo ang isang pari eh nilalabag mo hindi lang ang karapatang mabuhay kung hindi iyong karapatan din ng malayang pananampalataya,” Roque added.
The 40-year-old parish priest of Zaragoza town was behind the altar getting ready to start Mass at around 6:05 p.m. on Sunday when two unidentified men shot him through a window four times.
READ: Priest shot dead while celebrating Mass in Nueva Ecija
“Asahan ninyo po na mabibigyan ng pinaka-top priority ang pag-iimbestiga dito sa pagpatay na naman ng isang pari,” Roque said.
Duterte has slammed the Catholic Church for criticizing him over the administration’s war on drugs as he vowed to expose the abuses of the church.
Asked whether these remarks could have triggered the killing of priests, Roque said such observation has no “empirical basis.”
“Hindi naman po ‘no. I don’t think there is any empirical basis for that ‘no. Ang masasabi ko lang po itong kultura ng impunity ay naririyan na po bago pa pumasok ang ating Presidente,” he said.
Nilo was the third priest killed following the April 29 attack on 37-year-old Fr. Mark Ventura and the December 2017 ambush of 72-year-old Fr. Marcelito Paez in Jaen, Nueva Ecija./ac