country at a time of concern that police forces are involved in killing political opponents, BosNewsLife established Sunday, November 20.
In remarks monitored by the BosNewsLife Manila Bureau, Cardinal Ricardo J. Vidal said he was especially saddened by a series of summery executions, including in his home province of Cebu, where the number of vigilante-style killings reached 103 in recent days, according to local estimates.
"Let us love each other instead of killing each other," he told believers during his Mass at the parish of Blessed Virgin Mary.
The prelate expressed sadness that Cebu City, the provincial capital and the Philippines’ second most important metropolitan center, was dubbed "murder city" in local media.
EMBATTLED PRESIDENT
He said the administration of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, which is still reeling from election fraud allegations, must immediately end the "series of killings" in the Philippines, Asia’s only predominantly Christian nation.
"We seem not to value human life as a gift of God. I hope the government can do something about it," added Vidal, who is also Archbishop of Cebu. Church sources say local police is involved in killing ordinary people on suspicion of having links to underground or rebel groups, who oppose Arroyo’s government.
Homicide division chief Mario Monilar seemed to deny suggestions that police forces are involved but added they had "a hard time pinning the members of the alleged vigilante group". However he admitted that "those that have survived the attack[s] are reluctant to cooperate with the police."
CARDINAL DISAPPOINTED
Vidal’s spokesman, Achilles Dakey, said the cardinal was disappointed that people "are not listening anymore" as he has repeatedly condemned the killings. "Cardinal Vidal is urging the Catholic community to do their part in condemning the vigilantes," Dakey said.
"Why don’t the lay organizations and the charismatic community rise up in arms against vigilantism?" he added.
No suspect has been identified in the shootings in Cebu City, where the media keep on official tally of unsolved killings of suspected criminals and underworld characters.
