An armed man was gunned down by the police after an apparent shootout inside the Cebu archbishop’s residence Tuesday morning.
The man arrived at the residence at around 10 am on board a motorcycle, briefly stopping when guards asked who he was looking for, to which he replied: “Si Bishop Palma” before speeding inside.
The employees immediately notified the police after noticing a gun tucked in the man’s side.
“When we arrived in the area, the man was on board his motorcycle. Our operatives tried to approach him, but he said ‘Dont touch me’ before he fired at us,” PO1 Shiela Mae Estrero of the Mobile Patrol Group said in an interview.
“Left without a choice, we returned fire and hit him,” she added.
The armed man was later identified as Jeffrey Cañedo, 41, and a resident of Barangay Labangon, Cebu City based on his driver’s license.
The police tried to revive Cañedo but he died on the spot.
The authorities confirmed that Archbishop Jose Palma was safe, and was in Manila attending the recently concluded plenary assembly of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines.
The Archdiocese of Cebu released a statement that there had been no prior threat to the archbishop before the shootout.
Palma is a known critic of extrajudicial killings.
The incident took place just a day after President Rodrigo Duterte met with CBCP President and Davao Archbishop Romulo Valles in a bid to improve strained relations between the Chief Executive and the Church.
Palma urged the faithful to remain calm.
In an interview, Cebu Auxiliary Bishop Dennis Villarojo said Palma also asked the public not to speculate as the authorities are now investigating the case.
Villarojo said the man, wearing a bonnet with his face covered, arrived at the gate of the palace looking for the archbishop.
One of the staff told him that Palma was not in Cebu.
Philippine National Police chief Oscar Albayalde, meanwhile, said they are planning to implement an amnesty to enable owners of about 1 million firearms to register them with the police.
Albayalde told radio dzMM that weapons would be submitted for ballistics examination to determine if they match with any recorded crime. With PNA