The Department of Justice will reopen its investigation into the murder of Fr. Fausto “Pops” Tentorio after it issued a new report on the Italian priest’s killing six year ago in North Cotabato by members of the military.
Fr. Tentorio, a member of the Pontifical Institute of Foreign Missions, was gunned down inside the Our Mother of Perpetual Help Parish in Arakan, North Cotabato on Oct. 17, 2011.
Senior Assistant State Prosecutor Peter Ong, who drafted the DoJ report, lamented why the case failed to progress for years despite already available findings and pieces of evidence on Tentorio’s death.
“I can’t fathom why they can’t come up with a similar resolution. We were able to check how Tentorio was killed,” Ong said, who headed the DoJ team that reinvestigated the Tentorio murder case.
Ong noted that a resolution was already filed by provincial prosecutors with the Administrative Order (AO) 35, which created a Special Oversight Team, but the team found the findings insufficient and recommended “further investigation.”
AO 35, signed by former President Benigno Aquino III, created the “Inter-Agency Committee on Extra-Legal Killings, Enforced Disappearances, Torture and other Grave Violations of the Right to Life, Liberty and Security of Persons.”
According to Ong, the Italian priest was fatally shot ten times by hitmen of a paramilitary group called “Bagani.” Witnesses revealed that Tentorio’s killing was planned seven days before the execution, he said.
“May mga nag-utos sa kanila (hitman). We may not be able to ID all of them. But we were able to determine who are the possible suspects,” Ong said, in an interview with reporters.
“When I met 30 witnesses in July sa Arakan, very spontaneous pa rin ang kwento nila. They aren’t worried. They are willing to testify,” he noted.
Despite Tentorio’s close ties with the Lumad tribe, Ong ruled out any political angle in the Italian priest’s death.
“You have no reason to kill a person who is not a combatant. It is plain murder,” the DOJ prosecutor stressed.
“No politics here. This has nothing to do with the NPA (New People’s Army). This is simple murder,” he added.
Ong signed the new report which was drafted after DOJ Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II issued a department order last March for a reinvestigation and case build-up on Tentorio’s death.
“Justice may be slow, but one thing we promise is that we will give justice to Father Pops. How long will it take? We can’t control it,” he said.
Ong admitted that the National Bureau of Investigation has already filed a motion before the North Cotabato Provincial Prosecutor’s Office for the withdrawal of its complaint.
“Once the motion is granted, the next step is to file a new complaint against the respondents,” he said.
Ong’s reports recommended the indictment of the following respondents, namely: Jimmy Ato, Robert Ato, Jan Corbala, Nene Durado, Kaing Labi, Joseph Basol, Edgar Enoc, Romulo Tapgos, William Buenaflor, and alias Katong.
The other respondents include military officials Lt. Col. Joven Gonzales and Maj. Mark Espiritu.
The report also indicated the possible involvement of “John Does” in the killing, including members of the AFP who were conducting a “Bayanihan” activity near the Arakan Central Elementary School when the shooting incident took place on October 17, 2011.