CATHOLIC churches under the Diocese of San Carlos on Negros Island have been urged to sound their bells every night starting Sunday, July 28, until the killings stop.
San Carlos Bishop Gerardo Alminaza made the call in a pastoral appeal posted on social media on Thursday, July 25, shortly after the killing of five more residents of Negros Oriental. Two more, a father and child, were killed later on the same day.
"In anger and in a call for justice, in a spirit of communion, and in a collective prayer, we exhort our parishes, mission stations and religious houses to ‘ring our church bells” every 8PM starting this July 28, 2019 (Sunday) until the killings stop," said Alminaza.
"Let the tolling of bells remind us that the senseless killings are inhuman. Let the tolling of the church bells call us to a collective prayer, for us to beg God to touch the hearts of perpetrators, as we call on responsible government agencies to effectively address the series of deaths," he added.
The victims on July 25 were:
- Educators Arthur and Ardale Bayawa in Guihulngan at 12:55 a.m.
- Barangay Buenavista Chairman Romeo Alipan in Guihulngan at 1:40 a.m.
- Raklin Astorias of Barangay Maloh in Siaton, Negros Oriental at 8:30 a.m.
- Reden Eleuterio in Ayungon town at 5:10 p.m.
- Marlon Ocampo and his unidentified one-year-old child in Sition Tara, Barangay San Jose, Santa Catalina town at 8 p.m.
These are all "manifestations of a total absence of peace and order", the bishop stated.
These killings occurred about 36 hours after Anthony Trinidad, a lawyer based in San Carlos City but a native of Guihulngan City, was gunned down in Guihulngan by motorcycle-riding assailants on July 23.
On July 18, four police officers were allegedly executed by communist rebels in front of the villagers in Barangay Mabato, Ayungon town. Their faces were deformed, indicating that they were tortured, police said.
Until the killings end, bells in parishes, mission stations, and religious houses in the Diocese of San Carlos will be tolling every night at 8 p.m. starting Sunday, the bishop said.