DAVAO CITY—Militant Church leaders and organizations are accusing the military of involvement in the killing of Italian priest Fausto “Pops” Tentorio, who was killed by a lone gunman at the compound of his convent at Arakan, Cotabato, on Monday.
The militant groups also blamed the Aquino administration for its failure to stop extrajudicial killings, saying the murder of Tentorio was the 54th summary execution to happen under the administration of President Aquino.
Bishop Modesto Villasanta of the United Church of Christ in the Philippines (UCCP)supported his claim by citing “a number of cases” the UCCP has filed in court against members of the Armed Forces suspected of involvement in the killing of some of UCCP leaders and workers.
“We in the UCCP believe that many of the extrajudicial killings were perpetrated by those in the government, a reason we filed legal suits against former President Gloria Arroyo. We are sure that those doing this are from the ranks of the Armed Forces,” Villasanta said.
The Aquino administration, the bishop said, is no better than his predecessor in terms of violating human rights, especially on perpetrating summary executions.
“We strongly condemned extrajudicial killings even during the time of then-President Arroyo because these threaten democracy, but it is still happening now. Fr. Pops is the 54th extrajudicial killing victim under this administration,” said Villasanta in an interview during the third of a nightly candle-lighting protest in front of the city hall here. The nightly protest will last for nine days.
Summary executions threaten democracy because “the intention is to silence people who advocate the rights of the farmers and the indigenous peoples,” he said, arguing that Tentorio was killed to stop his advocacy against mining and for the respect of the rights of tribesmen and farmers.
Tentorio’s advocacies, Villasanta said, “are his own way of preaching peace and justice.”
This developed as the Promotion of Church Peoples Response announced that bigger protest actions on the regional, national and even international scale are being prepared, “so our call for justice for Fr. Pops will reverberate around the world.”
Meanwhile, Bishop Romulo de la Cruz of the Diocese of Kidapawan in a text message sent to this reporter, announced that “the body of Fr. Pops will be taken from Arakan to the Kidapawan Cathedral in the morning of October 24. A funeral Mass will be held at the Kidapawan Cathedral on October 25 at 9:30 in the morning, then the procession to Balindog for the burial near the grave of Fr. Tulio Favali.”
Favali was also a missionary of the Pontificio Istituto Missioni Estere (Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions) who was killed by a fanatic group allegedly armed by the Army.
The National Democratic Front in Southern Mindanao (NDF-SM) also shared the accusation of the militant group as it accused the Army’s Sixth Infantry “Kampilan” Division under the Eastern Mindanao Command of “responsibility for the extra-judicial killing” of Tenorio.
In a statement, the NDF-SM premised its accusation on its claim that “the military unit [6ID] has been engaged in the active counterrevolutionary program of the US-Aquino regime operating in North Cotabato, South Cotabato, Maguindanao and Sarangani, hence, it [6ID] masterminded, orchestrated and executed the October 17 daylight murder of Fr. Tenorio.”
The NDF-SM’s statement, signed by one Rubi del Mundo, also claimed that “the 6th ID-EastMinCom has the mandate from the Aquino administration to implement the government’s Oplan Bayanihan, a carry-over of the Arroyo administration’s Oplan Bantay Laya that similarly targets civilians like Fr. Tenorio.”
