Catholic Church officials had sought security from local authorities for their Holy Week rites after Monday’s ambush that killed three people.Basilan Bishop Martin Jumoad condemned the attack, which he said was a blatant disregard of the Church’s observance of the Holy Week.
“We (call) on the authorities to intensify their security measures and implement the law against lawless elements," Jumoad said in an article on the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) Web site.
He also called on other groups to respect Christians in the same way they respect religious activities of other groups.
“If there’s any problem they should bring it to the proper forum and not through violent means... They should find peaceful means to get their problems resolved," he said.
Three plantation workers, including a woman, were killed while eight others were wounded in an ambush in Lantawan town in Basilan early Monday morning.
Killed were Munding Alay, Juniffer Agbay and Khaddafy Aliouddin, who died of multiple bullet wounds.
The victims, including those injured, were all employees of the Tairan Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Association and Multi-Purpose Coperative (TARBAMC).
For his part, Fr. Arnel Lagman, San Roque parish priest, said they are not discounting the possibility that some members of a local tribe, Yakan, may have been behind the incident.
“We are about to start Mass when we heard gunshots and people started running," Lagman said.
Lagman recalled that only last Wednesday, a grenade from an M-79 grenade launcher exploded meters away from the San Roque Church.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Disclaimer
No responsibility or liability shall attach itself to either myself or to the blogspot ‘Clerical Whispers’ for any or all of the articles placed here.
The placing of an article hereupon does not necessarily imply that I agree or accept the contents of the article as being necessarily factual in theology, dogma or otherwise.
Sotto Voce
(Source: GMAN)