Take Action

October 25, 2011

The National Council of Churches in the Philippines calls us to protest the assassination of Fr. Fausto Tentorio, an Italian Catholic missionary priest serving among remote Indigenous tribes in Arakan Valley, Northern Mindanao, Philippines, who was killed on October 16, 2011.

Background

Fr. Fausto "Pops" Tentorio was shot inside the compound of the Mother of Perpetual Help Parish early morning of October 16. He died a few hours later from multiple gunshot wounds.

Fr. Tentorio was an Italian Catholic missionary of the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions (PIME). Since 1983, he worked among the Manobo tribal people in Arakan Valley. He set up schools, health services, and community development programs to address government neglect of peasants and tribal peoples in remote areas. In solidarity with the UCCP, The United Church of Canada has written a letter to President Aquino [PDF: 1 p/24 KB] about this and other extrajudicial killings.

While providing basic services, Fr. Tentorio also

• raised awareness about the economic and social neglect of tribal peoples
• supported their struggle for the right to live in dignity
• opposed mining and other corporate development that leads to displacement of tribal communities, severe environmental destruction, and loss of people's livelihoods
• opposed the increased military presence in Arakan Valley because of abuses against tribal peoples by military and paramilitary groups

Because of his activities, state forces perceived Fr. Tentorio as a "leftist." In 2003, he survived an attack by a paramilitary group. Leaders of the Manobo community and human rights organizations believe that state forces are responsible for his killing.

Fr. Tentorio is only the latest case of extrajudicial killing of church leaders and human rights advocates. During the regime of past president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, close to 2,000 church workers, human rights advocates, and members of progressive political and sectoral organizations were assassinated. Fr. Tentorio is the 54th victim of extrajudicial killing since May 2010, when President Benigno Aquino III won the election promising to end human rights abuses. Killings of anti-mining activists have recently increased.

These ongoing killings are part of the previous and current regime's ongoing "counter-insurgency" plan, which has been condemned by a United Nations' Special Rapporteur's fact-finding mission.

A prophet's life has been snuffed out, but a martyr is born. We are called to conquer our fears to continue proclaiming that "justice rolls down like a river" (Amos 5:24).

Take Action

Write to the Philippine government and

• condemn the killing of Fr. Fausto Tentorio and call for a thorough investigation to bring the perpetrators of the crime to justice
• urge the Philippine President to immediately order the authorities of the military to stop the extrajudicial killings and the labelling of activists and human rights advocates as "enemies of the State," which makes them vulnerable to human rights abuses
• call for an immediate end to the implementation of its counter-insurgency program, Operation Plan Bayanihan

Write to the Canadian government and

• urge them to issue a public statement condemning the killing of Fr. Fausto Tentorio and calling for a thorough investigation to bring the perpetrators of the crime to justice
• urge them to call on President Benigno Aquino III to fully implement the recommendations of the U.N. Special Rapporteur, Philip Alston: specifically to end the counter-insurgency program and the practice of labelling activist and human rights advocates as "enemies of the State"

Please send your letters to:

• President Benigno Aquino III
  Malacanang Palace
  Manila, Philippines
  Fax: 632-742-1641 / 929-3968
  E-mail: President Benigno Aquino III
• Secretary Leila De Lima
  Department of Justice
  Manila, Philippines
  Fax: 632-521-1614/ 523 5548
  E-mail: Secretary Leila De Lima
• The Rt. Hon. Stephen Harper
  Office of the Prime Minister
  Ottawa, ON
  Fax: 613-941-6900
  E-mail: Stephen Harper

Send a copy to:

• Barbara Lloyd
  Program Coordinator, Public Witness
  The United Church of Canada
  E-mail: Barbara Lloyd

For more information contact:

• Bern Jagunos
  Asia Program Coordinator, Partners in Mission
  Tel: 416-231-7680 ext. 4077
  Toll-free: 1-800-268-3781
  Fax: 416-231-3103
  E-mail: Bern Jagunos