09/11/2009, 00.00
PHILIPPINES
Send to a friend

Filipino bishops and humanitarian associations condemn the murder of Fr Cecilio Lucero

The investigation into the clergyman’s death continues. The human rights activist was killed on 7 September in Samar del Norte province by a 30-men armed commando. Just before his death the priest had received threats from people in the military responsible in his opinion of abuses against the population.
Manila (AsiaNews/ Eglises d'Asie) – “The Church condemns such an evil act which killed a man of God who had dedicated his life to serving people. The Church expects a quick outcome to the investigations undertaken by the authorities,” said Mgr Emmanuel Trance, bishop of Catarman, as he spoke about the murder of Fr Cecilio Lucero, a human rights activist killed last Monday in Samar del Nord (a province on an island south-east of Manila) by a group of some 30 armed men.

For decades Samar Island has been the scene of an armed conflict between the Filipino military and fighters with the New People’s Army (NPA), the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines.

Under the pretext of fighting the rebels the Filipino military for years has been responsible for abuses against the civilian population, in particular farmers. Many of those who dare to speak out against such abuses have been forced into silence.

Fr Lucero ran a human rights organisation, the Social Action Center (SAC). His death comes in the wake of a series of unsolved murders, 18 in the last six months..

For Bishop Trance political reasons could be behind the assassination. “For his work in defence of human rights and his inquiries into suspicious deaths that occurred in recent months, he had antagonised both the military and the Communists,” the prelate said.

The priest’s two brothers are in fact both politically active in the area. Wilmar Lucero, a former congressman, is slated to run for the presidency next year. Antonio Lucero is assistant governor in Samar del Norte province.

According to Flor Chantal Eco, general secretary of the human rights organisation Katungod Sinirangang Bisaya, Fr Lucero’s death is related to his work as a human rights advocate.

“Many farmers turned to him for assistance every time the military or the rebels violated their rights,” she said.

“Because of his activity in favour of the population he had received so many threats from the military that he had to travel with an escort,” she added.

Meanwhile the situation in the region remains tense. On Tuesday the ecumenical human rights organisation Promotion of the People’s Response (PCPR), which Father Lucero chaired from 2001 to 2003, organised a big demonstration to protest against his death and demand justice from the government.

For the demonstrators the clergyman was a “defender of the poor and the oppressed,” another victim of the spate of murders that has swept over the island in the recent past and which Father Lucero himself was investigating.

“We fully support every effort to bring those responsible for this cowardly crime to justice,” said Mgr Broderick S. Pabillo, chairman of the National Secretariat of Social Action (NASSA) of the Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines.

For his part regional police chief Mario R. San Diego announced that a special forces unit will be set up to coordinate the overall police investigation.

TAGs
Send to a friend
Printable version
CLOSE X
See also
Filipino priest killed in an ambush in Northern Samar
07/09/2009
Activists accuse military of killing farming family in Negros Occidental
27/06/2023 20:39
Duterte: Truce with Communist rebels for a “stress-free” Christmas in Mindanao
20/12/2017 16:08
Mindanao, a businessman is the mastermind of Fr Tentorio's killing, NPA says
09/03/2012
Growing unemployment in the Philippines, also due to corruption and waste
04/01/2010


Newsletter

Subscribe to Asia News updates or change your preferences

Subscribe now
“L’Asia: ecco il nostro comune compito per il terzo millennio!” - Giovanni Paolo II, da “Alzatevi, andiamo”