Killing spree in Leyte: Bishop Maceda denounces murder of 52-year-old layman

Marcelino Combate was killed on 9 June while returning home after a pastoral activity. He was engaged in carrying out the liturgy of the Word in two villages on the city outskirts.

Manila (AsiaNews) - After the attack on the Santo Niño Chapel in Cotabato on May 19, Pentecost Sunday, with the throwing of a grenade that caused two injuries and a wave of indignation on the part of the civil and religious authorities, on June 9 the Filipino Christian community - which constitutes a clear majority in the country - suffered a new violence, in the province of Leyte: the killing of Marcelino Combate, 52 years old, a layman engaged in a pastoral ministry.

The crime is part of a long trail of 'unsolved' murders in the area. The indignation of Bishop Marvyn Maceda of San Jose de Antique was not long in coming. 

The prelate called Combate's 'another life lost because of senseless murders'. Maceda was ordained and served as a priest in the Diocese of Naval for more than 20 years before becoming a bishop in 2019.

"I am alarmed because this is already the 13th murder in the third district of Leyte since last year and many others are the cases of people killed with firearms in previous years," he said. He was related to the victim because a pastoral collaboration had started between them in 2011 when he was parish priest of the Immaculate Conception parish in the city of Leyte. 

Marcelino Combate was killed by unknown persons while he was returning home on his motorbike six days ago, after celebrating the 'Kasaulugan sa Pulong' (liturgy of the Sunday Word in the absence of a celebrant) in two outlying barangays of the city. According to the Bishop of San Jose de Antique, the layman had volunteered to serve the remote villages, despite the security risks.

"I join my voice in the condemnation of these dastardly acts and the cry for justice for Brod Mars and the countless others who have been killed in recent years," Maceda said. He hoped that the authorities would promptly investigate in order to bring those responsible to justice as soon as possible.

"I join the cry of the people of Leyte and the entire district in calling on the government agencies concerned to speed up the investigation to restore order and bring peace back to everyone's hearts," he continued.

This incident as well as the many others that preceded it shed light on the widespread crime and violence in the area. The authorities are committed to containing them, to restoring order, and the explicit advice to families is to report any criminal groups to the police or the army.

The causes of such incidents remain to be ascertained, but the shadow of the actions of Daesh-linked Muslim groups, which act following clashes with the military, remains. Often to gain revenge and visibility, as happened with the attack on a church in Marawi last December, at the beginning of Advent, when a bomb exploded causing four deaths.