Widow of slain Dutch seeks pope’s help

MANILA, Philippines - A Filipina has asked Pope Francis to help get justice for her Dutch husband, a missionary who was shot and killed in 2012.

In a letter to Francis, Aurora Santiago said military-hired assassins killed 68-year-old Willem Geertman, Alay Bayan Luson Inc. executive director, in front of his office in Barangay Telabastagan in San Fernando, Pampanga on July 3, 2012.

“I ask your help, our dear pope, so we may achieve justice for the killing of my husband,” read the letter. “He did not do anything wrong but to love and help the poor and oppressed.” 

A suspect, Marvin Marzan Muguid, is under police custody on murder charges.

The suspected gunman, Harold de la Cruz, and four others are still at large.

Geertman arrived from the Netherlands in the 1970s as a religious missionary.

He considered Aurora province as his home, where he stayed for many years.

He lived with the poorest of farmers and indigenous peoples – the very basis of the “Church of the Poor.” He helped form organizations of marginalized sectors in Aurora, including church formation for justice and peace.

During the Arroyo administration, the military accused Geertman of being a leader of the communist National Democratic Front.

In 2009, he became executive director of Alay Bayan and facilitated relief and rehabilitation efforts for disaster-stricken communities in Central Luzon.

Political prisoners on hunger strike

Political detainees in Southern Mindanao have been on a hunger strike since Thursday to urge Francis to intervene for their release.

In a letter to Francis, 16 detainees in Compostela Valley Provincial Jail asked him to join their fight for justice.

The detainees, along with other political prisoners nationwide, will be on hunger strike until Monday when Francis is set to depart.

In Southern Mindanao, the group Karapatan has documented 35 political prisoners serving life in prison for what it believes to be fabricated charges.

Another letter from political detainees in Malaybalay City Jail  said: “It has been our firm stand that to serve the people is not a crime but rather a conviction to persevere.”

Hacienda Luisita farmers also like to invite Pope Francis to join the people at Chino Roces to bless the bridge, which has seen many generations of Filipinos hold demonstrations against the government. – With Edith Regalado