“He’s a martyr because he lived a selfless life,” said United Church of Christ in the Philippines Bishop Modesto Villasanta. He described Fr. Pops through Tagalog song’s lyrics: “walang sinuman ang nabubuhay para sa sarili lamang; walang sinuman ang namamatay para sa sarili lamang.”
By ALEX D. LOPEZ
Davao Today
DAVAO CITY, Philippines — As thousands gather in Kidapawan City today to commemorate the first year death anniversary of slain Italian missionary Father Fausto ‘Fr. Pops’ Tentorio, multi-sectoral groups held a protest liturgy and torch march on Tuesday to demand for justice.
Lighting 365 candles symbolizing a year of injustice, representatives from the workers, farmers, women, indigenous peoples, religious and youth and students delivered messages of hope and paid tribute to Fr. Pops, “the man who offered his life to the oppressed and underprivileged.”
“He’s a martyr because he lived a selfless life,” said United Church of Christ in the Philippines Bishop Modesto Villasanta. He described Fr. Pops through Tagalog song’s lyrics: “walang sinuman ang nabubuhay para sa sarili lamang; walang sinuman ang namamatay para sa sarili lamang.”
Villasanta said Fr. Pops did not only show the people how to love God. “His life is a manifestation of how to love the people. His service is truly genuine.”
That elusive justice
But, 12 months after the brutal death, justice remains elusive for Fr. Pops.
“The NBI (National Bureau of Investigation) has stopped the investigation (on Fr. Pops case),” said Sheena Duazo, spokesperson for Bagong Alyansang Makabayan in Southern Mindanao, in a statement.
Duazo said Justice for Father Pops Movement (JPM) led by Fr. Peter Geremia and Italian Ambassador Luca Fornari asked DOJ (Department of Justice) Secretary Leila De Lima last April 26 to unify the conflicting testimonies of witnesses. They also asked the government to expand its investigation to the Bagani para-military group, their military handlers and masterminds of the crime.
Geremia is said to have sent letters to De Lima on two occasions, in May 18 and 29 this year, reiterating their request. “But no written reply was given to Fr. Geremia,” Duazo lamented. “Instead, it was the late Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo who updated the JPM on the findings of the police and NBI investigation,” she added.
The PNP and NBI findings, as updated by the late Robredo, named Jun Corbala alias Kumander Iring, an alleged leader of the fanatic group Bagani organized by the military’s 57th Infantry Battalion. The said report stressed that Bagani does not officially exist as a unit of the AFP, and that the AFP, it said, would not benefit from the killing of Fr. Pops.
Another disturbing finding on Robredo’s update was the content of the intelligence briefs from the Police Regional Office 12 that identified as “most probable suspects” for the killing of Fr. Pops those “interested groups” that are eyeing agri-business venture in Arakan Valley, along the tri-boundaries of Cotabato, Davao and Bukidnon.
Duazo added, Robredo’s updates prompted them to call “for the expansion of the scope of the investigation that would include the Bagani paramilitary group, their military handlers, and businessmen or politicians cited in the police’s intelligence briefs.”
“But it seems,” she said, “the Aquino government is systematically blocking our pursuit for truth and justice by stopping the investigation.”
The militant leader also scored the Task Force Fausto (TFF) for producing “no significant results of their investigations.” The FF, headed by the NBI of the DOJ, was formed by President Aquino days after the brutal killing of the priest.
Duazo said, only the filing of cases against suspects Jimmy and Robert Ato, and Jose and Dima Sampulna were considered as “milestones in the process of seeking justice” for Fr. Pops.
Fr. Pops was murdered exactly a year ago inside the compound of Our Lady of Perpetual Parish in Arakan town, Cotabato province.
He was a staunch defender of peasants and IPs rights. He was also very vocal against the entry of foreign and large-scale mining and logging firms and worked for the recognition of the ancestral lands of the lumads in Arakan town. (Alex D. Lopez/davaotoday.com)
Extrajudicial Killings, Fr. Pops, World
