CPP Information Bureau
Communist Party of the Philippines

Press release
October 4, 2006

CPP pays tribute to slain Aglipayan bishop, slams hypocrisy of Arroyo 
regime's probe on killings

The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) paid tribute today to 
slain Iglesia Filipina Independiente (IFI) Bishop Alberto Ramento, 
calling him a "true and close friend of the national democratic 
revolutionary movement" and declaring that, "The CPP, National 
Democratic Front and the entire revolutionary movement have the 
highest regard for Bishop Ramento and consider him a martyr of the 
Filipino people for national freedom, democracy and social justice."

Bishop Ramento was found dead inside his parish church early Tuesday 
morning with several stab wounds. Branding his killing "brutal and 
heinous," the CPP said that it holds the Arroyo regime responsible 
for his murder.

Contrary to police claims that Bishop Ramento was not politically 
involved, he was, prior to his killing the chair of the Ecumenical 
Bishops Forum; chair of the Promotion of Church People's Response-
Central Luzon; chair of Karapatan-Tarlac and a board member of the 
Philippine Peace Center; chair of the Ecumenical Bishops Forum on the 
killing of Rev. Edison Lapuz; convenor of the multi-sectoral groups 
Pilgrims for Peace, Movement of Citizens for Civil Liberties-Central 
Luzon, Peace Forum, Interfaith-Central Luzon and Church-Peasant 
Conference. He was also an ardent supporter of the Hacienda Luisita 
(HLI) strikers and a very vocal and influencial critic of the Arroyo 
regime, and especially of the Malacañang-instigate d "Cha-cha."

The CPP said Bishop Ramento had long been under close military 
surveillance and was in fact included in a list of IFI prelates 
targeted for elimination or neutralization. The list, provided by a 
direct source within the military, has been known to the IFI since 
mid-2005. Aside from the slain bishop, the list includes Fr. Mario 
Quince, parish priest of Paniqui, Tarlac; Fr. Gregorio Lacanaria, 
parish priest of Victoria, Tarlac; Fr. Marshal Bautista, parish 
priest of Pura, Tarlac; and Fr. William Tadena, parish priest of La 
Paz, Tarlac—all of whom have been vigorously supporting the HLI 
strikers. Reverend Tadena was killed by a military death squad in 
March 13 that year. Earlier, Fr. Allan Caparro and his wife, Ailyn 
Cana-Caparro of the IFI in Biliran, Leyte and the Samar diocese of 
the IFI were also ambushed.

The CPP slammed the PNP's outright dismissal of Bishop Ramento's 
murder as a "simple case of robbery with homicide." With Bishop 
Ramento's killing, the CPP said, the hypocrisy of the Arroyo regime's 
so-called investigation into political killings is thoroughly 
exposed. "The murder of Bishop Ramento only proves that the Arroyo 
regime has no real intention of stopping the political killings and 
is in fact hellbent on continuing its campaign of assassinating 
activists and its critiques and terrorizing the people."