Palace: Priests should bring alleged death threats to police

MANILA, Philippines — The priests who revealed that they were receiving threatening messages should seek help from law enforcement agencies, presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo said.

In a statement posted by The STAR, Panelo said that the Palace’s position is that “they bring their concern officially to any law enforcement agency so that the latter may conduct an investigation, and at the same time secure their safety.”

Sec. Panelo to priests getting death threats: Go to the police so they can investigate | @xtinamen pic.twitter.com/khaaZeCxps

— The Philippine Star (@PhilippineStar) March 13, 2019

On Monday, priests Albert Alejo, Flavie Villanueva and Robert Reyes revealed death threats they have recently received. They also shared that Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas, former head of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, also receive threats through text messages.

Their reveal came weeks after Caloocan Bishop Pablo Virgilio David said he has been receiving messages that he would be “next,” prompting him to not attend an event where he was to receive an award.

Alejo said that they publicized the threats due to fear. He appealed to the people behind the threats to stop their acts.

“Bakit nga ba sila nananakot? ‘Yung mga nananakot sa amin ay takot din. Meron silang kinatatakutan,” he said during Monday’s press conference.

(Why are they threatening? Those who are threatening us are also threatened. They also fear something.)

'Kill, rob bishops'

Duterte does not hide his disdain against the Church and has ramped up his rants against them in the course of his adminstraation.

Last year, the president suggested bystanders to rob and kill “useless,” moneyed Catholic bishops.”

Political analyst Dennis Coronacion, chairperson of the Department of Political Science at the University of Santo Tomas, said that the president’s words “may be interpreted by the people, particularly the Duterte supporters, as a government policy.”

The president changed his tune against the bishops on February when he shared, in a speech, that Manila Archbishop Luis Cardinal Tagle’s letter wrote him a letter informing him that David and some priests received death threats from “someone claiming to be working for the president’s family.”

Duterte denied it and added: “Do not touch the priests, they had nothing to do with politics.”

Panelo added later that the death threats should be investigated as they might be fabricated, a prank or came from the opposition, but did not elaborate.

Burden of proof on accuser

Panelo, who is also the presidential chief legal counsel, said that the burden to prove the accusation that the president or the government is behind the threats is on them.

“Suffice it to state that it is elementary in law that the one who alleges must prove,” he added.

“Since the priests are the ones accusing the government or the President as being behind those death threats, it stands to reason that they have to prove their accusation,” Panelo also said.

Panelo has also said that it would be unfair to pin the blame to the president.

During the press conference, the priests shared with the media the text messages that they received. — Kristine Joy Patag with a report from The STAR/Christina Mendez