The murder of Italian priest Fr. Fausto Tentorio is yet another reminder of how prevalent the culture of violence and impunity is in the country. Coming little more than a month before the second anniversary of the Maguindanao massacre, the Roman Catholic priest’s death affirms what many still fear: that despite a new leadership holding the reins of power, the gun is still the preferred instrument used by the lawless to enforce their own perverted brand of justice and revenge. Between the November 23 killings that left 58 people dead and Monday’s killing of Tentorio, dozens of other victims had also been slain for no other reason than that they crossed some other person who had the power and the means to silence them forever. That is not what a democracy is about, and it is not what we have been working hard for as a civil society.

Not that the value of a life is relative or changing, but in a way the killing of a priest is more shocking today than during the previous administration. The Arroyo regime had earned for itself the reputation for being a harbour for impunity as various personalities – both famous and infamous – became suspects in numerous murders but were never prosecuted. Those who were not able to squeeze themselves out of court cases, like the members of the Ampatuan clan accused in the Maguindanao massacre, were jailed only after high-profile yet seemingly reluctant attempts to arrest them. The thinking is that this state of affairs is over under the Aquino administration, but we see that it is actually not. There seems to be no difference, and we still see civilians being felled like timber left and right.

President Aquino needs to prove that his leadership does not take such killings lightly. Already he is being twitted for being unable to find and prosecute the killers of those who fell victim under his watch, and while it may be unfair to expect the murders to be resolved so soon, it does not speak well of him that the killings do not seem to be top priority to him. Hopefully, Fr. Tenorio’s murder will wake up government, not least because the victim is a foreign national whose native country will surely apply pressure so that the killers – not just the trigger man but the mastermind – get collared and are made to suffer the penalty for their gruesome crime. Consider this a serious test case, one that can make or break this administration.

Generalizations

One of the unfortunate side effects of the killing of Fr. Tentorio is the inevitable painting of Mindanao as a “lawless” land. Media reports on the murder have invariably included such adjectives on the island, calling it “conflict-ridden,” “war-torn,” “troubled,” and many others. The foreign wire services have also taken pains to give a background of Mindanao, saying this is where Islamist militants operate, where kidnap-for-ransom gangs abound, and where the Al Qaeda has a presence through the Abu Sayyaf. All this despite the fact that the killing occurred in a small town in Arakan Valley, North Cotabato, and despite the suspicion voiced by many of Fr. Tentorio’s friends and allies that it was perpetrated not by terrorists but by either the military or business interests in the mining sector.

We understand the negative generalization of Mindanao, of course. Being far away from the national capital, not many people around the world know where the island even is, much less what the actual condition in it is. But these generalizations are what kills the island and scares away visitors and investors whose presence would enrich Mindanao culturally, socially, and economically. Prior to Fr. Tentorio’s death, three countries had already issued travel advisories on Mindanao, telling their respective nationals to avoid traveling to the island: Britain, the US, and Australia. Now we add Italy, the good priest’s home country, and we are the poorer for it.

Again the reaction of the Italian government is understandable, but it would have been better if it – and the three other countries – give specific areas for their travel advisories instead of lumping all of Mindanao together. As we Mindanaoans say, the island is not the war-torn, conflict-ridden, troubled place that the media paint it to be. Mindanao is beautiful and its people peace loving, we say. We are sure that Fr. Tentorio, as an adopted Mindanaoan, would say the same exact thing.

Jon Joaquin is the managing editor of the largest circulation newspaper in Mindanao, the Mindanao Daily Mirror in Davao City.

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