Rebels, gov't soldiers deny hand in priest slay

KIDAPAWAN CITY — Both communist guerrillas and government soldiers operating in Mindanao have denied involvement in the killing on Monday of Italian missionary Fausto Tentorio in Arakan, North Cotabato. In a statement issued Wednesday, the National Democratic Front (NDF) Southern Mindanao said the revolutionary movement saw Tentorio's killing as an occasion to show the people's collective disgust and legitimate action against the state. “In time, those responsible for Tentorio’s demise shall face the full wrath of the people’s army so that revolutionary justice shall be served," said NDF Southern Mindanao spokesperson Rubi del Mundo. Del Mundo claimed the 6th Infantry Division under the Eastern Mindanao Command (Eastmincom) is responsible for Tentorio’s killing. The Army, however, has vehemently denied the accusation. Col. Leopoldo Galon, spokesperson for the Eastmincom of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) based in Davao City, said it is unfair to blame the soldiers assigned in the area for the killing. The town of Arakan in North Cotabato is under the operational control of the 10th Special Forces of the Airborne. “Kung naghahanap tayo ng mga suspect, isa ring anggulo na gusto naming tingnan at kung sino nga ba ang naapektuhan sa ginawang pag-oorganisa at pag-empower sa mga lumad [ni Father Tentorio] para ma-claim ang kanilang minana," said Galon. According to reports, rebels are also considered suspects in the crime. “We’re studying all angles. We don’t discount the possibility the killing is related to Father Tentorio’s anti-mining stand and his efforts at protecting Indigenous People's rights. But there are also those saying the rebels can be suspects," said a top Philippine National Police (PNP) official in Central Mindanao. Chief Supt. Lester Camba, deputy regional director for administration of the PNP-Region 12, is leading the conduct of autopsy on Tentorio’s body. The police, however, have yet to release their initial findings of the case. The town of Arakan, located along the boundary of the provinces of Bukidnon, Davao del Sur, and North Cotabato, is home to the Manobo tribe whose lands, reports said, were sold to rich and influential families who put up banana and African palm oil plantations. Several mining companies have also tried in the past to penetrate the town for open-pit mining activities but were opposed by civil society groups, local government officials, including the Tinanon-Kulamanon Panaghiusa sa Arakan (TiKulPA), a group of indigenous peoples that Father Tentorio had helped organize in late ‘80s. Leoncio Lubiano, spokesperson for Father POPS (People Organized for Peace and Solidarity) Movement for Justice, said two days prior to Tentorio’s death, police in Arakan town confiscated from some civilians at least nine high-powered firearms. It turned out these firearms were owned by members of the 10th Special Forces, Lubiano said. Lubiano, citing sources, said the night before the killing, a military vehicle and a motorcycle were seen roaming around the town. “Sa dihang gipangutana namo ang Arakan PNP kung ngano naay magbahis-bahis nga sakyanan sa military ug motorsiklo, ingon nila part kuno sa civil military operations sa Army. Pero natingala man mi nganong sa gabii nila himoon ang maong activity nga makahatag sa amo’g kahadluk," said Lubiano. (When we asked the police why a military vehicle and a motorcycle were roaming around the area, they told us it was part of the Army’s civil-military operations. But we were surprised why the operations were done at night.) Tentorio was shot at close range inside the compound of the Mother of Perpetual Help Parish in Poblacion, Arakan, around 730 a.m., Monday. Scene of the Crime Operatives (SOCO) in North Cotabato said the victim sustained at least 10 gunshot wounds from a 9mm pistol, resulting in priest’s instantaneous death. Malu Cadelina Manar/LBG, GMA News