We, Bishops of the Iglesia Filipina Independiente, join our hearts in prayers as we humbly offer to the God of Justice, Truth and Peace, the life of our brother, Alberto B. Ramento.
The Church mourns the violent death of her son, a man of God who selflessly dedicated his life loving his neighbor and serving the people. However, the greatest testimony to the life of Bishop Ramento is found in his death.
Known as the ‘Bishop of the Poor Peasants and Workers’, Bishop Ramento embodied the spirituality of the Iglesia Filipina Independiente, a spirituality that celebrates the patriotic and democratic aspirations of the Filipino people and testifies to her faith and hope in Christ.
We are convinced that his murder was the consequence of his principled engagement with the Filipino people’s struggle for the fullness of life. The Church is strongly convinced that his brutal death is part of the worsening cases of extra-judicial killings in the country. We condemn this act of terror perpetrated against a man of the cloth murdered within the sanctuary of his own Church. We condemn militarization and make a stand against this attack on church people.
We lament over the grievous attempts to mislead the people into believing that Bishop Ramento’s murder is but a case of ‘simple robbery with homicide.’ We express our concern over the Philippine National Police (PNP) making a hasty conclusion of the case and have the impression that the police is being coerced to protect the powerful people who are behind Bishop Ramento’s death.
Not long ago, the AFP maliciously named the Iglesia Filipina Independiente among the list of organizations and institutions to be in the ‘echelon of alliances with the Communist Party of the Philippines’ and are ‘enemies of the state’ that needed to be ‘neutralized’.
Hence, we have strong reasons to believe that what befell our brother bishop, as well as the countless unresolved political killings, the blatant attacks on democratic rights and civil liberties, as well as the continuing harassment of our other bishops and priests, is not without the knowledge of the GMA government and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP). We reiterate our call for the GMA government to stop the extra-judicial killings and bring to an end these atrocities committed against the people.
We strongly call for the creation of an independent multi-sectoral investigating body to probe into the situation of human rights violations in the Philippines, including the case of Bishop Ramento’s brutal murder with the purpose of bringing the perpetrators into justice.
We also call on the faithful and the people to denounce the escalation of political repression and extra-judicial killings in the country, to remain vigilant against state terrorism, and to defend our democratic rights as citizens of the country.
We pray for strength to withstand these acts of aggressions and assaults committed against our bishops and priests. We continue to entrust ourselves to the Spirit to help us hold on to our hope in Jesus Christ and steadfastly proclaim the Gospel of the Kingdom even before the face of death.
Lastly, we pray to God that the death of Alberto, our brother bishop, a martyr for peace, will not be in vain but give courage to the people to continue struggle for justice and peace in the world.
JUSTICE FOR BISHOP ALBERTO B. RAMENTO,
JUSTICE FOR ALL VICTIMS OF EXTRA-JUDICIAL KILLINGS
Pro Deo et Patria,
† MOST REVD GODOFREDO J. DAVID
Obispo Maximo
12th October 2006
City of Manila
City of Manila
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