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Advocates for Human Rights in the Philippines-AHRP,US based network calls for justice for Fr. Fausto Tentorio

ICHRP Secretariat
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Press Statement, Chicago, Illinois, USA – In the early morning of  October 17 while on his way to a clergy meeting, Fr. Fausto Tentorio, an Italian Roman Catholic missionary serving the Philippines for 32 years was killed by an unidentified assassin. The gunman shot him several times on his chest and head.

Fr. Tentorio was the parish priest of the Mother of Perpetual Help Parish in Arakan Town, North Cotabato, Mindanao. He was the Director of the Diocesan Program for Indigenous People and a very active member of the Rural Missionaries of the Philippines.

Bishop Valentin Lorejo IFI, former chairperson of KARAPATAN Northern Mindanao, a human rights alliance in the Philippines and currently the Pastor of IFI Good Shepherd Congregation in Chicago believes that Fr. Tentorio’s advocacy for the rights of the indigenous people may have caused him his life.

Bishop Eliezer Pascua also from Chicago and former Secretary General of the United Church of Christ in the Philippines added that “Fr. Pops” as Fr. Tentorio was fondly called by his parishioners was a staunched defender of the rights of the indigenous people to preserve their ancestral land and as such may have earned the ire of big business and foreign mining companies in Mindanao.

The killing of Fr. Tentorio is very alarming said Fr. Steve de Leon SVD, Pastor of the Star of the Sea Catholic Church in Virginia Beach, Virginia and Spiritual Adviser of   Migrant Heritage Commission in Washington DC. He added that the killing of the Italian priest is part of the ongoing extra judicial killing of human rights advocates and activists in the Philippines.

Meanwhile Fr. Primitivo Racimo IFI, scholar and historian of the Iglesia Filipina Independiente and currently the Pastor of St. Margaret’s Episcopal Church in Chicago affirmed Fr. de Leon’s concern and said that the killing of Fr. Tentorio is the 54th incident of extra judicial killing under the administration of President Benigno Aquino III. He also noted that there are more than 900 victims of extra judicial killings in the Philippines since the year 2001.

Furthermore Fr. Benjamin Alforque MSC, Resident Priest of St. Catherine of  Alexandria Catholic Church in the Diocese of San Bernardino, California and Chairman of the National Alliance for Filipino Concerns-NAFCON and co-Chairperson of the National Ecumenical Forum for Filipino Concerns-NEFFC declared that genuine and lasting peace will never be attained in Mindanao nor the whole of the Philippines as long as respect for human rights and human dignity is absent and as long as disenfranchisement of indigenous communities, landlessness, joblessness, and state terrorism continue.

Filipinos and Filipino-Americans in the United States joined hands in condemning the killing and demand that President Aquino ensures a speedy investigation and prosecution of the culprit, among them were the following:

Very Reverend Dennis Legaspi VF, Pastor of St. Elizabeth of Hungary Catholic Church, Diocese of San Bernardino, California; Sr. Elizabeth Pedernal of the Missionary Sisters of St. Charles Borromeo-Scalabrini in Melrose Park, Illinois;  Ms. Naida Castro of the Filipino Catholic Ministry of the Diocese of San Bernardino, California; Prof. Ligaya Lindio-McGovern PhD of the Department of Sociology, History and Political Science of the Indiana University- Kokomo in Indiana; Fr. Justino Estoque,  Pastor of the Holy Family Catholic Church in Dulac, Louisiana; Fr. Sancho Garrote, Resident Priest of St. Brendan Catholic Church in Bronx, New York; and Reverend Dennis Duhaylungsod, clergy of the Northern California and Nevada Conference of the United Church of Christ in the US to mention a few.

To conclude Rocco Allegretti and Nerissa Allegretti acting secretariat of the Advocates for Human Rights in the Philippines (AHRP) and co-coordinators of the US nucleus of the Lay Scalabrinian Missionary Movement enjoins all peace loving and concern citizens to pray for: the family of Fr. Fausto Tentorio; his congregation, the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions or the Pontificum Institutum pro Missionibus Exteris (PIME); his Bishop, the Most Reverend Romulo Tolentino de la Cruz; the lay and clergy of the Diocese of Kidapawan, the indigenous people of Mindanao and the Filipino people that they may remain firm and steadfast in these trying times. #

For Reference:
Nerissa N. Allegretti, lay_scalabrinian_missionaries_us@yahoo.com

Rural missionaries condemn killing of Italian priest in Mindanao

ICHRP Secretariat
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Rural missionaries condemn killing of Italian priest in Mindanao

Very truly, I tell you, anyone who does not enter the sheepfold by the gate but climbs in by another way is a thief and a bandit. The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep.” (John 10: 1-2)

Fr. Fausto Tentorio, PIME, third Italian priest martyred in the Philippines (photo from GMANews Online)

We are saddened of the news that came to our attention today, October  17, 2011  that a shepherd of the people   Fr. Fausto Tentorio, PIME  was murdered in his convent in   Arakan Valley Cotabato . He was killed by  assailants who entered  the  convent  and shot him on the head and chest  with three (3) bullets instantly killing him. It is very clear that the priest’s murder was  pre-meditated  as there was already a threat on his life  by the Bagani  paramilitary group under the jurisdiction of the 73rd IB, eight (8) years ago due  to his  love for the Lumads,  particularly in  organizing them  to have their voice heard the, TINANANON- KULAMANON LUMADNONG PANAGHIUSA (TIKULPA).

We, the  Rural Missionaries of the Philippines (RMP) condemn in the strongest possible terms the killing of Fr. Fausto Tentorio, PIME  an RMP member   and a foreign  missionary  priest of    Cotabato  Southern Mindanao. His  killing  is a clear disrespect for his right to life  and liberty. It is an injustice to his mission to proclaim and live out  the gospel. As  an RMP member,  he was very active in  his  support, encouragement, and in pushing forward initiatives working for the promotion of the human rights of the poor farmers  and indigenous  people in Arakan Valley. He took up the defense of the poor and the oppressed against every form of social injustice. What happened to him is a clear manifestation of silencing his prophetic voice in defending the rights of the rural poor in the countryside. We denounce the extra-judicial killings that is still happening  and we demand justice for Fr.  Fausto Tentorio.  We believe that we can only have authentic and lasting peace if we have respect for human dignity, justice and freedom.

RMP  does not tolerate any form of repression especially through extrajudicial killings. The right to life is a gift  from God for everybody; no one has the right to take it. The wheel of justice is the proper venue for resolution of any  case. We therefore call on the proper authorities to conduct a thorough and speedy investigation on the killing of  Fr. Fausto  Tentorio and bring into the bar of justice the ones responsible.  He was  a  good shepherd  to God’s flock  and could have  journeyed long to help the   rural poor. We extend forth our sincerest and deepest sympathy to the  PIME  family of   Fr. Fausto  Tentorio.

Reference:

Sr.M. Francis  Anover,RSM
National Coordinator
Rural Missionaries of the Philippines (RMP)
Tel # 930 6950
Email: ab.ruralmissions2010@gmail.com

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RURAL MISSIONARIES OF THE PHILIPPINES-Northern Mindanao Sub-Region (RMP-NMR)
P.O. Box 41324, 9200 Iligan City, PHILIPPINES
T/F: +63 223 5179  E: rmpnmr@gmail.com  W: www.rmp-nmr.org

Lacierda’s statement disparages the peace process

ICHRP Secretariat
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In an earlier statement on the 39th anniversary of martial law in September 21, Presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda falsely stated that there are no political prisoners existing in the country today.

Again, in a more recent statement last October 11, he further messed up the issue of political prisoners by saying that Malacanang is not keen on granting the demand for amnesty to political prisoners. Pulling right out of thin air the speculation that political prisoners who are peace consultants of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) and supposedly protected from surveillance, arrest, detention and other antagonistic acts, by virtue of the Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees (JASIG) “feel very strongly that they should be acquitted rather than be released based on the JASIG…”

We, our legal counsels, human rights advocates and others who have been taking up our cause, have repeatedly been stating that the cases filed against us, NDFP consultants, as well as practically all other political prisoners, are trumped-up criminal charges, worked out just to “legalized” our arrest and imprisonment. The falsity and absence of real bases and even inability of those trumped-up charges to stand fair legal scrutiny have been proven in practically all our cases that have been concluded in court. This has been so in the cases against fellow NDF consultants Elizabeth Principe, Angelina Ipong and Jovencio Balweg, which were dismissed by respective courts.

We have thus continued to rebuff Malacanang and the government peace panel’s claiming of credit for the previous releases of NDFP consultants as part of the prevailing government’s confidence-building gestures in relation to the peace talks. And we state for a fact that the NDFP consultants’ releases were entirely because of their court victories, and not in any way because of any goodwill measure by the prevailing government for the sake of the peace talks.

Yet, while we remain confident of continuing to win victories in fair and just court trials in as much as the remaining court cases against us consist of haphazardly prepared trumped-up charges, it is not true, contrary to what Lacierda wants to make it appear, that instead of being immediately released by virtue of the JASIG, we prefer to go through the motions of the court and await the conclusions of our court cases even if it takes forever or may be further manipulated to force our convictions, no matter the falsity of the charges against us.

Contrary to Lacierda’s distortion of our preferences, we insist that we should not have been arrested, jailed and made to go through the snail’s pace of our hearings in courts, most of which are even just puppets of the fascist state forces that have ordered and perpetrated our arrest and imprisonment.

Lacierda’s statement disparages the JASIG – the guarantee that as peace consultants, we would be free from arrest, detention, court harassments and other impediments on our work for the peace process.

Lacierda’s statement, in effect, disparages the peace process itself.#

Allan V. JAZMINES (signed)
Detained NDFP Consultant
PNP Custodial Center, Camp Crame
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PUBLIC INFORMATION DESK
publicinfo@karapatan.org
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Alliance for the Advancement of People’s Rights
2nd Flr. Erythrina Bldg., #1 Maaralin corner Matatag Sts., Central District
Diliman, Quezon City, PHILIPPINES 1101
Telefax: (+63 2) 4354146
Web: http://www.karapatan.org

KARAPATAN is an alliance of human rights organizations and programs, human rights desks and committees of people’s organizations, and individual advocates committed to the defense and promotion of people’s rights and civil liberties.  It monitors and documents cases of human rights violations, assists and defends victims and conducts education, training and campaign.

Mindanao IPs mourn death of “Fr. Pops”, missionary to the Lumads, hold Aquino accountable

ICHRP Secretariat
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PRESS STATEMENT – It is a great tragedy and irony that during the indigenous peoples month of October, a great advocate of the Lumads has been ruthlessly shot and killed.

Fr. Fausto Tentorio, PIME, Italian priest and missionary to the lumad tribes of Arakan Valley, died of multiple gunshot wounds this morning, October 17, as he was preparing to go to a clergy meeting in Kidapawan City.  Initial reports of his death said the assailant is a helmet-wearing, motorcycle-riding gunman, typical of the military death squads that tainted the Arroyo regime.   Kusog sa Katawhang Lumad (KALUMARAN) holds responsible the Oplan Bayanihan of President Aquino as the motivating force behind Fr. Tentorio’s death.  Fr. Pops, as he was fondly called, had criticized the military for its operations in the community he embraced, and pronounced the “peace and development” programs in Arakan Valley as contrary to the aspirations of the people.

Fr. Pops worked with local indigenous peoples organizations to build a school for Lumad youth in Arakan Valley and develop the local economy through sustainable agriculture.  Tinananon-Kulamanon Lumadnong Panaghiusa (TIKULPA), a local organization which he and his staff have supported through capacity building programs, has stood firm against agri-business plantations and other corporate business interests in the area.    His work has brought ire among local tribal dealers and government officials who want to reap profits from the ancestral domain of the Manobo and other tribes in the area.  In 2003, Fr. Pops was hunted down by Bagani paramilitaries in Kitaotao, Bukidnon, but he was shielded by the community and the threat was deterred.

The death of Fr. Pops is a continuation of the reign of terror in Lumad communities that began under the Marcos regime and has persisted through subsequent presidencies.  Like his mother, Noynoy Aquino is pursuing a low-intensity conflict strategy against those individuals and communities that work for alternative, community-centered forms of development preventing the entrance of foreign capital and big business in ancestral domain areas and rural communities.    Fr. Pops death was preceded this year by the deaths of Lumad Higaonon leader Datu Lapugotan and his nephew Solte San-ogan in Esperanza, Agusan del Sur, as well as the deaths of Jimmy Arion, Nicomedes de la Peña, Sr., Nicomedes de la Peña, Jr., and Ruben Gatong in San Fernando, Bukidnon.    Lumad paramilitary groups formed and supported by the Armed Forces of the Philippines are responsible for their deaths.

KALUMARAN condemns the killing of Fr. Fausto Tentorio and holds the Aquino regime accountable for this crime.  The reign of impunity must come to an end!

Reference: Monico Cayog, Chairperson 09995699612

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RURAL MISSIONARIES OF THE PHILIPPINES-Northern Mindanao Sub-Region (RMP-NMR)
P.O. Box 41324, 9200 Iligan City, PHILIPPINES
T/F: +63 223 5179  E: rmpnmr@gmail.com  W: www.rmp-nmr.org

Another Italian priest gunned down in North Cotabato

ICHRP Secretariat
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DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/17 October) – An Italian priest who had been serving Mindanao since 1978 and was head of the Tribal Filipinos Apostolate of the Diocese of Kidapawan, was gunned down at around 8:30 Monday morningjust as he was preparing to leave his convent in Arakan Valley, North Cotabato, for the 9 a.m. Presbyterium in Kidapawan City.

Bishop Romulo dela Cruz told MindaNews Fr. Fausto Tentorio, PIME, parish priest of Arakan Valley, was hit on the left side of his head, chest and side while in his vehicle, preparing to drive for Kidapawan City. He said reports reaching him indicated there were two gunmen within the perimeter of the convent.

Dela Cruz said Tentorio was pronounced dead upon arrival at the Medical Speicalists Hospital in neighboring Antipas town at around 9:05 a.m. The bishop, who rushed to the hospital told MindaNews they were bringing Fr. Tentorio’s remains to Arakan Valley where the wake will be held for two nights before transferring to Kidapawan City.

Tentorio is the third Italian PIME (Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions) priest gunned down in Mindanao but the second in the Dicoese of Kidapawan. Fr. Tullio Favali was gunned down by a paramilitary group led by Nortberto Manero on April 15, 1985 while Fr. Salvador Carzedda was gunned down in Zamboanga City on March 20, 1992 by two men on a motorbike who overtook the vehicle he was driving.

Fr. Tentorio, or Fr. Pops, as he was fondly called, arrived in the Philippines in 1978 and was first assigned in Ayala, Archdiocese of Zamboanga, for two years. He was assigned to the Diocese of Kidapawan in 1980 and was stationed as mission administrator in the parish of Columbio in Sultan Kudarat, a parish comprising Lumads (indigenous peoples), Muslims and settlers.

According to the website of the PIME, Fr. Tentorio was transferred to the mission station of Arakan in 1985.
“In his pastoral ministry, Fr. Tentorio gave special focus on the organization of and support for the indigenous tribes collectively known as the lumad. They are among the poor and exploited in his parish. It is necessary to organize them and provide them with opportunities for a better future through education, livelihood capabilities and agricultural enhancement right in their own home environment,” the website said.

Fr. Tentorio experienced a near-death experience on October 6, 2003 during one of his visits to the Lumads of Kitaotao, Bukidnon, portions of which are part of the parish of Arakan.

There, Fr. Tentorio had organized the tribal organization called the Tinananon-Kulamanon Lumadnong Panaghiusa or TIKULPA.

He left the parish of Arakan at 8 a.m. with four staffmembers, to visit the Lumads in Kitaotao. “After two hours of motorcycle and horseback riding, we reached New Kabalantian, Kitao-tao, Bukidnon where some people approached me and told me that armed men were waiting for me in Barangay Sagundanon, Kitao-tao, Bukidnon, three kilometers ahead where we were supposed to pass. They told me that these men belong to the group called Bagani, that they come from outside the area, and that their intention was to harm me, specifically by throwing hand grenades at me while I am passing by,” Fr. Tentorio said in his account of the incident in the PIME website.

“When night came, at around 7: 00 o ‘clock, I went to sleep in a small lumad hut with around 15 people. At about 7: 30 p,m. the people spotted few Bagani approaching the village, guided by Tata and Abing Gawilan, the sons of the kagawad who told me that there was nothing to worry about. They went straight to the hut that was next to where we were and asked information about Isidro Indao (vice chair of Tikulpa) and his whereabouts,” he wrote.

The armed men also asked where Fr. Tentorio was. The villagers denied he was around and asked the armed men why they were looking for the priest. “Will you kill him?”

One of the Bagani members reportedly replied, “No, we will just arrest him and bring him to our superior.”

“Worried of the possible consequences, the people denied to them that I was there. They told me and my companions to stay quiet in the house and hide there because the Bagani were looking for me. We decided to listen to their advice because to try to run would have been too dangerous. We did not know how many of them were there, and where they were hiding,” the priest wrote.
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Underscoring the culture of impunity sweeping the rural areas of Mindanao, Fr. Faustino “Father Pops” Tenorio, an Italian PIME priest, was gunned down this morning in his convent.

Fr. Pops has been an active advocate for the rights of the indigenous peoples. Serving in  the Tribal Filipinos Apostolate of the Diocese of Kidapawan, he is also one of RMP’s (Rural Missionaries of the Philippines) most active priest, serving as the Alternate Sub-Regional Coordinator for Southern Mindanao.

Justice for Fr. Pops! Condemn human rights violations and impunity in the rural areas of Mindanao!

RURAL MISSIONARIES OF THE PHILIPPINES-Northern Mindanao Sub-Region (RMP-NMR)
P.O. Box 41324, 9200 Iligan City, PHILIPPINES
T/F: +63 223 5179  E: rmpnmr@gmail.com  W: www.rmp-nmr.org

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