Priest’s killers will be unmasked

The killing of Catholic priest Fr. Mark Ventura in Tuguegarao, Cagayan, is a big slap to President Digong’s war on drugs and crime.

It was probably the first time a priest was shot dead after celebrating Mass.

His killers didn’t even wait for him to take off his soutane or priestly garment.

Killing a priest in this predominantly Catholic country was unthinkable years back.

Ventura’s assassins were apparently hired guns.

Whatever the motive for Father Mark’s murder, the mastermind and, of course, the perpetrators should be unmasked.

The full might of the law should be brought to bear on his killers.

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As a police reporter for many years, I heard this statement often from veteran investigators: “Kapag trinabaho ng pulis, walang krimen ang hindi nalulutas. (If the police work earnestly, no crime will be left unsolved.)”

Criminals unconsciously leave telltale marks at the crime scene which sharp investigators can find.

The saying that there is no perfect crime is a truism.

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I grudgingly admit that one of the best investigators I met when I was a police reporter was then 1st Lt. Panfilo Lacson of the Metrocom Intelligence and Security Group (MISG).

I was with the now-defunct Times Journal and then the Manila Bulletin when I covered the young Lacson.

He was very good at his job. And so were Capt. Reynaldo Berroya, his immediate superior at MISG, and Lt. Col. Rolando Abadilla, MISG chief.

There was no crime then (circa 1970 and 1980) that the MISG did not solve.

One notable case that it solved was the break-in at the house of a staff member of then Defense Minister Juan Ponce Enrile.

You know how the MISG solved it?

The perpetrators left a telltale mark: They had defecated all over the place after they ransacked the house.

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The best advice for young professionals or new graduates that I’ve come across is from fellow Inquirer columnist, Joel Ruiz Butuyan, in his “Flea Market of Ideas.”

If you are a yuppie who wants to advance in the world, read his column titled “Advice to young professionals” which came out on April 30.

If you missed it, you can look up Butuyan’s column online.

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Butuyan’s success as a practicing lawyer, which is worth emulating, is his mindset to help others.

He says: “Use your profession not only to advance your personal welfare but also to help the underprivileged members of your community. You live in a community and your practice thrives because of your community, so you have a personal stake in improving its welfare.

“You should extend pro bono legal work, participate in medical missions, contribute to scholarships and positively influence social, cultural and political
issues in your community.

“The cliché is true and fitting: ‘To whom much is given, much will be required.’ And besides, money can’t buy the rewards of a good deed to your well-being.”

So true! The more you give of yourself, the more blessed you are.

What you do for others boomerangs on you.