Editorial: Outrageously evil act

THE culture of impunity in the Philippines continues to persist.

Another Catholic priest was gunned down in Luzon.

Father Richmond Nilo was about to celebrate mass in a chapel of Barangay Mayamot, Zaragoza in Nueva Ecija province when unidentified assailants shot him dead on Sunday, June 10.

Nilo was the third Catholic priest killed in the country in six months. The others were Fr. Mark Ventura in Gattaran, Cagayan Valley on April 29 and Fr. Marcelito Paez, who was shot dead in Jaen, Nueva Ecija on December 4, 2017.

The Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), in a statement, strongly condemns this “outrageously evil act!”

The statement was signed by CBCP president Davao Archbishop Romulo Valles.

The statement said that they are “deeply saddened and terribly disturbed that another priest is brutally killed.”

“We make our appeal once again to the police authorities to act swiftly in the investigation and to go after the perpetrators of this heinous crime and bring them to justice,” the statement said.

Philippine National Police Oscar Albayalde already directed his men in Central Luzon to form a special investigation task group to look into the priest’s killing

He said the investigation is still ongoing and that the police have yet to establish the motive of the incident or identify persons of interest.

He said there is no cause for alarm.

The country’s top cop also urged the Catholic priests who have received threats to seek police protection.

With three deaths in just six months, yes, there’s really a cause for alarm.