Reported ‘death threat’ on priest out to muddle SLF issue

CEBU, Philippines — Dumaguete City Mayor Felipe Antonio Remollo said the alleged death threat on a parish priest is all “hearsay, without basis and an attempt to muddle the debate over the establishment of a sanitary landfill (SLF) in the city.

Remollo, citing that the breaking news came from a radio station, said the media in Dumaguete is generally fair with their reporting except for a station-produced program that seemingly “never runs out of attacks against the administration.”

Included in these “attacks” is the alleged death threat on Father Pepe Vincoy, and linking it to the priest’s open objection to the establishment of an SLF for environmental reasons.

As a result, the public is now being lured into believing that opposing the SLF would be a life-threatening stand, even if the project proponents insisted that they are open to objections from any sector for responsible discussion, and would never go into hostile retort or intimidation.

Remollo, however, did not take chances on this threat, as he already directed Superintendent Jonathan Pineda, City Police chief, to conduct a thorough assessment of the situation and, if possible, provide the priest with a security escort.

Results of the investigation, however, disclosed that Father Vincoy did not personally receive the death threats but was told by a listener of what he heard over the radio program of an anchor, whose identity is being withheld.

According to Pineda, the perceived death threat did not come from the priest himself but from a radio anchorman, who claimed he received the same text messages during his radio program.

Pineda sent intelligence operatives to Vincoy’s place and provided him with security measures, citing possibilities that some quarters may take advantage of the situation.