ZAMBOANGA CITY: Hundreds of Filipinos joined a funeral march on Tuesday for murdered Italian missionary Fausto Tentorio in the southern Philippines. Some of the mourners held a protest outside a Philippine Army camp in North Cotabato’s Makilala town and sprayed red paint on a sign with word “Berdugo,” which means executioner, and accused the military as behind the killing of the priest, a staunch defender of indigenous tribesmen and their rights in the province. Tentorio, a member of the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions (PIME), was shot 10 times on October 17 by two men outside his convent in Arakan town. The priest, a known anti-mining advocate, was previously accused by the military as a supporter of the communist rebel group New People’s Army. Communist rebels and human rights groups have also accused the security forces as behind the murder, an allegation strongly denied by the military.
“Fr. Tentorio is the latest victim of the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ campaign of annihilation of vocal Lumad advocates and staunch critics in Mindanao, intensifying as the year comes to a close. And he would not be the last,” said Rubi del Mundo, a spokesman for the National Democratic Front in Mindanao. Del Mundo added that the killing of the missionary was part of the so-called Oplan Bantay Laya, the codename for the military’s anti-insurgent campaign. “You know these groups will ride (on) any issue to advance their propaganda,” said Col. Noel dela Cruz, a spokesman for the Sixth Infantry Division. He added that government troops had a good relationship with Tentorio when he was alive. No individual or group claimed responsibility for the murder, but the priest was the third Italian missionary killed in Mindanao since 1985. President Benigno Aquino 3rd had ordered security forces to get the killer of the priest and police said that they have in custody two probable witnesses who could shed light on the murder. Tentorio was buried beside the grave of fellow Italian Tulio Favali, who was shot dead in 1985. Rep. Emmi de Jesus said that Tentorio’s murder unmasked the culture of impunity that has pervaded the country and called on President Aquino to put an end to extra-judicial killings. “Fr. Tentorio represented the dreams of elusive peace of the marginalized people in Mindanao. But in his death, the perpetrators failed to kill him because he has already shared his life with o hundreds of people who needed light in the midst of darkness and hopelessness in Mindanao. His death fanned the desire of the people to continue working harder for a just and lasting peace in Mindanao and the whole country,” she added. The Rural Missionaries of the Philippines in southern Mindanao said that the priest devoted himself to the service of indigenous peoples, especially in their defense of their right to ancestral domain and their right to life. Tentorio’s family and relatives in Santa Maria di Rovagnate, in the Italian province of Lecco, said that they were shocked with the news of the priest’s death. “We are shocked and dismayed. The last time my brother came to Italy, a year and a half ago, he told us that the situation in Kidapawan was not tense at all, that there was nothing to fear. And now this news. . . We always advised him to be cautious, be careful,” Tentorio’s elder brother, Felix, told AsiaNews. Security threats will not deter Italian missionaries from staying and pursuing their mission in southern Philippines, according to a PIME official. “Sometimes I felt tired. Sometimes I felt fear. However, this is our mission. This is what God has given to us,” Fr. Giovanni Re, PIME regional superior, said also on Tuesday. Re added that PIME was unfazed with the fact that missionaries were being sent to an area where Muslim rebels and al-Qaeda-linked militant groups operate. He, however, admitted that the challenge they were facing had become more difficult considering the killing of Tentorio. “I know there are times that our will weakens but let us pray to God to give us more courage and strength in fulfilling our mission,” Re said. _______________ by :