Rectory attacked in Aurora; priest unharmed

Unidentified men strafed a Catholic rectory in Casiguran town in Aurora province over the weekend, but the Catholic priest believed to be the attack’s target escaped unhurt and remained defiant. Fr. Jose Francisco “Joefran" Talaban, parish priest of Nuestra Señora de la Salvacion in Bianoan village, said he had received threats because he tried to protect local farmers and fishers from some local development projects. "Alam nila naman siyam na taon ako nagtatrabaho rito bilang parish priest dito. Meron ng mga pagbabanta at ito ang pinakamatinding nangyari sa akin na malapit sa aking tulugan ang malakas na pagsabog," Talaban, 43, said in an interview on dzRH radio Monday. (I have been working as parish priest here for nine years. I have received threats but this is the most serious so far.) But while police continue to investigate the incident, Talaban said he would continue to oppose some local projects. The Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) said Talaban had particularly been a vocal opponent of the Aurora Special Economic Zone (APECO). An article posted on the CBCP news site on Monday said the incident occurred on Saturday when an explosion followed by successive gunshots hit the parish house in Purok 5 in Bianoan village in Casiguran town. Talaban was sleeping when the explosion occurred near the parish house at about 2:20 a.m., the CBCP said. Neighbors also said that a black service van without license plates stopped in front of the parish area and unidentified men approached it, the CBCP account said. Aurora provincial police chief Senior Superintendent Romulo Esteban said investigators recovered an empty shell from an M-16 rifle, three empty shells from an M-14 rifle, and shrapnel from a grenade. He added that the suspects also left plastic laminated pamphlets warning Talaban to pack and to leave the area because he was allegedly sowing disunity in Casiguran. The pamphlets were supposedly issued by the “Aniban ng Ayaw sa Komunista (ANAK)," an anticommunist group. Other laminated pamphlets accused Talaban of being an advocate of Satan and questioned his integrity for being part of the New People’s Army, the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP). Security tightened at parish In the meantime, Talaban said local police and community officials tightened security in the area. "Sa ngayon ang komunidad ay concerned, tinutulungan natin sila sa pagbabantay tuwing gabi. May tanod at minsan may kapulisan na nagroronda sa parokya ko," he said. (Our community is concerned. They are now helping secure the area. Sometimes police show up to conduct patrols in the parish.) He also stressed that he would not be cowed. "Ang simbahan ay hindi hihinto sa pagkiling sa mahirap at inaapi (The Church will not stop protecting the poor and the oppressed)." "If I will be asked regarding the harassment, I will never leave my parish. I am not affected by the said incident," he added. Last Good Friday, Talaban led a protest action against APECO participated in by farmers, fishermen, indigenous people, and two priests. He also urged management of APECO to respect the rights of farmers to their titled lands and not grab them for their own profit. He said the ancestral lands of the indigenous peoples are their sole possession and their only means of survival. Bishop condemns attack Infanta, Quezon Bishop Rolando Tirona condemned the attack and said the threats will not deter the local church from defending the rights of the poor and exposing irregularities in the province. Calling the perpetrators “cowards and without conscience," Tirona said the attack on Talaban’s rectory was related to the support of the Church to groups opposing the establishment of an economic zone in the province. “Definitely, 100 percent of this incident is related to the assistance Father Joefran is extending to those who are affected by the APECO," Tirona said. “The allegations against Father Joefran are all lies and being spread by people who are disturbed because the villagers have already learned the truth," he added. Also, he said the attack happened as Talaban and the prelature elevated the issue to advocacy groups based in the University of the Philippines and Ateneo de Manila University when the residents decided to oppose the conversion and expansion of Aurora Special Economic Zone Act (ASEZA) into the APECO. - RJAB Jr/KBK, GMANews.TV