Suspect in Italian priest's slay nabbed

MANILA, Philippines - Authorities have arrested the primary suspect in the killing of Italian missionary Fausto Tentorio in North Cotabato last October.

Justice Secretary Leila de Lima announced in a statement that Jimmy Ato, the alleged gunman was arrested in his house in Sitio Mahiwakwak, Kolaman Valley, Arakan, North Cotabato at around 3 a.m. yesterday by agents of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) in Region 12.

She said the parish of the slain priest, through Fr. Peter Jeremiah had been informed of the arrest of the suspect.

The suspect was nabbed by virtue of an arrest warrant issued by Cotabato Regional Trial Court Branch 13 for arson with homicide.

De Lima said the suspect’s brother, Robert, even fired at the NBI agents.

“Fortunately nobody was injured. Agents immediately whisked the subject to avoid any confrontation,” she said.

She said she requested the 57th Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army to put up checkpoints near the area to avert any possible retaliation from the relatives of the suspects.

Citing witnesses’ accounts, De Lima said Ato was the gunman while his brother drove the motorcycle they used as a getaway vehicle.

“A possible motive in the killing is local politics, but I can’t give particulars lest it jeopardizes other ongoing operations. We’re also looking at the victim’s involvement in environmental issues as another motive,” she said.

Tentorio, 59, of the Rome-based Pontifical Institute for Foreign Mission was about to board his car parked inside the Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish in the town of Arakan last Oct. 17, when an armed man shot him twice in the head with a .9 mm pistol.

With Tentorio already sprawled on the ground, the suspect fired one more shot to finish him off before escaping toward Barangay Anapolon in Arakan near the boundary of Bukidnon and North Cotabato.

Witnesses said the gunman, who wore a helmet, casually walked away from the crime scene and fled on a motorcycle driven by an accomplice.

Tentorio was a longtime parish priest of Arakan, spoke the dialect fluently and had good ties with the people there.

The Italian priest was a known environmentalist and had a strong advocacy against mining operations in Arakan and nearby towns.

He was recently named titular head of the municipality’s anti-crime Task Force Arakan, a multi-sectoral group that helps the police maintain peace and order.

He was the second Italian missionary killed in North Cotabato.

CBCP welcomes arrest of suspects

As this developed, an official of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) said he is pleased with arrest of the alleged gunman and the driver of the getaway vehicle in the murder of Tentorio. 

CBCP-National Secretariat for Social Action, Justice and Peace chairman Manila Auxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo also thanked authorities for the arrest of the suspects.

“If that is the news, then that is good news. I hope that is true,” said Pabillo. 

“I hope that they (Ato brothers) would point out who the mastermind is… We are thankful to the NBI for this development but we are also interested to know who the mastermind is. Once we know who is the mastermind, we would also know the motive behind his death,” he said.

“This case is not yet closed until we know who the mastermind is. That is what we want to uncover right now so that the culture of impunity would be removed,” he added. 

The CBCP official said they are also hoping that Tentorio would be the last priest who would fall victim to senseless killing. – With Evelyn Macairan