Monday, April 02, 2007
Indonesian priest killed in northern Philippines (11 a.m.)
TABUK -- An Indonesian Roman Catholic priest was fatally shot in a remote northern Philippine village as he was preparing to celebrate Palm Sunday Mass, police and military officials said Monday.
Officials said initial reports showed the priest, Francis Madhu, 31, had an argument with four men in Lubuagan town in mountainous Kalinga province before one of the men shot him with an M-16 rifle in full view of parishioners.
The suspects were at large, and the reason for the attack was being investigated, said Lt. Col. Francis Lardizabal, a regional military commander.
Madhu, who was a parish priest in the village, was declared dead on arrival at Lubuagan District Hospital, he said.
Regional Police Director Raul Gonzales, said investigators could not immediately be reached for any updates because there was no mobile phone service in the area.
The parish church is in Lubuagan's Mabungtot village, which is a two-hour walk from the town proper, Gonzales said.
Kalinga's provincial capital of Tabuk is about 330 kilometers (205 miles) north of Manila.(AP) |
