DOJ orders probe on Italian priest's slay

The Department of Justice (DOJ) has ordered an investigation into the killing of an Italian priest in the southern Philippine province of North Cotabato last Monday. On Tuesday, Justice Secretary Leila De Lima designated DOJ Undersecretary Francisco Baraan III to head the task force that will look into the killing of Italian priest Fausto Tentorio and submit a report to the DOJ special task force on extralegal killings. Baraan was also tasked to "closely coordinate with the National Bureau of Investigation and the Philippine National Police and monitor the progress of the investigation." "And in line with the current set-up/mechanism, certain prosecutors will be assisting in evidence gathering and eventual case build up once perpetrators are identified," De Lima said. The Justice chief's order came shortly after a group of militants from the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan), Karapatan, Promotion of Church People's Response (PCPR) staged an "emergency action" in front of the DOJ compound in Manila, urging the agency to probe the killing. Also on Tuesday, President Benigno Aquino III vowed to seek justice for the killing of Tentorio.

Killing of Father Tentorio Around 7:30 a.m. on Monday, a lone gunman shot Tentorio several times in the head and the body inside the compound of the Mother of Perpetual Help parish church in Arakan town. The slain priest, said to be a staunch anti-mining advocate, was a member of the Pontificio Instituto Missioni Estere (PIME or Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions). He was the third priest in their congregation who was murdered in the Philippines, according to the PIME Philippines blog. "Fr. Pops was a rural missionary and indigenous peoples advocate. His death underscores the climate of impunity that persists even under the Aquino government," said Bayan secretary general Renato Reyes. — RSJ, GMA News