Activist Aglipayan bishop stabbed dead By Tonette Orejas, Michael Lim Ubac Inquirer Last updated 03:49am (Mla time) 10/04/2006 Published on Page A1 of the October 4, 2006 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer CAPAS, TARLAC -- An Aglipayan bishop who spoke out against the extrajudicial killings under the Arroyo administration and who took up the cudgels for striking workers at Hacienda Luisita was stabbed dead yesterday morning inside his convent in Tarlac City, police said. Bishop Alberto Ramento, 69, chair of the Supreme Council of Bishops of the Philippine Independent Church, was killed by two men who entered the San Sebastian Cathedral’s convent through a damaged door, according to Senior Superintendent Nicanor Bartolome, Tarlac police director. Bartolome told the Inquirer that an undetermined amount of money had been stolen from the bishop. “This is a case of robbery. We see no signs yet that this was politically motivated,” he said. But in Manila, Bayan Muna party-list Representative Satur Ocampo said the murder of Ramento might have been intended to silence him and to end his support for many causes, including human rights, civil liberties and good governance. “Ramento was a champion of the people’s welfare, critic of political killings and a defender of civil liberties,” said Ocampo, a deputy minority leader at the House of Representatives. Another party-list lawmaker, Anakpawis Representative Rafael Mariano, described Ramento as “a man of peace, a staunch advocate of genuine land reform, and a supporter of Filipino workers and peasants.” Police arrived at the crime scene a few minutes after residents reported hearing a commotion at the convent, Bartolome said. He said police teams were working on a lead and hunting the perpetrators. Bartolome said Ramento was attacked at about 4 a.m. and died of stab wounds. He said a bloodstained kitchen knife was found in the cathedral compound. Irony Militant groups were quick to condemn the killing of Ramento, co-chair of the Philippine Peace Center and convenor of Pilgrims for Peace. Danilo Ramos, secretary general of the peasant alliance Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas, noted the irony in the murder of one who had condemned the rash of political killings. “It is very ironic and sad that the bishop himself would be a victim of extrajudicial killings. Justice must be served,” Ramos said in a statement. In another statement, Roman Polintan, chair of Bagong Alyansang Makabayan-Central Luzon, said his group attributed Ramento’s killing to “government security forces.” “Our fear is that this is another killing that was based on the fact that the bishop was a staunch defender of the people’s rights and welfare. It is the Arroyo administration which stands to gain from this killing,” Polintan said. Ramento was killed more than two weeks after the retirement of Major General Jovito Palparan, chief of the Army’s 7th Infantry Division, who has been blamed for the murder of activists and rights workers in areas where he was posted. Major General Juanito Gomez, Palparan’s successor at the 7th ID, desisted from commenting on the accusation that government forces had killed Ramento. Speaking by phone from Fort Magsaysay in Nueva Ecija province, Gomez said: “We would rather wait for the result of the police investigation.” 2nd in Tarlac Ramento was the second Aglipayan leader killed in Tarlac province, after Rev. William Tadena, also a supporter of the striking workers at Hacienda Luisita. According to the KMP, Ramento led the International Solidarity Mission last year at the sugar estate owned by the Cojuangco family, where at least seven workers and their supporters were killed in a confrontation with soldiers and policemen on Nov. 16, 2004. Seven more union leaders were slain in the succeeding months. KMP information officer Carl Ala said the police should stop treating the case as an ordinary robbery because Ramento started receiving death threats when he threw his support behind the workers at Luisita. The human rights group Karapatan, of which Ramento was the provincial leader, said the bishop had received death threats from men believed to be members of the military. “We decry and express our outrage over this heinous killing of a peace and human rights advocate,” said Karapatan deputy secretary general Jigs Clamor. Louder than words House Deputy Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano said the situation was “getting ridiculous.” “The government portrays itself as a strong republic, but it can’t protect journalists, activists, and now even priests in their own churches,” Cayetano said, adding: “The bottom line is, actions speak louder than words. Whatever kind of killing, the continued slaughter simply means that there’s no deterrent to murder anymore. Obviously, the ones [responsible] feel that they can get away with [the murders].” Ocampo said the Arroyo administration was accountable for failing to stop the political killings and to protect the rights of dissenters, be they activists, journalists or church people. He said the killing of the bishop was further proof that the Melo Commission, a fact-finding body formed by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in August to investigate the extrajudicial killings, was “a farce.” “The death squads are unafraid of the commission because it serves their purpose of concealing the role of the military and police in the killings, and provides a podium for generals to justify the continuing carnage of innocents through black propaganda masquerading as testimonies,” Ocampo said. Deviating from pattern Anakpawis’ Mariano noted that the manner of the killing deviated from the pattern of previous extrajudicial murders perpetrated by motorcycle-riding assailants. “It is as if the killers wanted to make it appear that the killing of Bishop Ramento was for a different motive,” he said. Mariano recalled that during the June 12 Independence Day Inter-Faith Prayer Rally at Liwasang Bonifacio in Manila, Ramento said he was opposed to Charter change because it was aimed at prolonging Ms Arroyo’s stay in power and would “further undermine the national patrimony.” With an Associated Press report Copyright 2006 Inquirer. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.