Updates on the Extrajudicial Killing of Bishop Alberto B. Ramento

On October 3, 2006, Bishop Alberto B. Ramento, the ninth Obispo Maximo of the Iglesia Filipina, was found dead bathing in his own blood inside his rectory at San Sebastian Parish, Tarlac City, with seven stab wounds in his body. Bishop Ramento was the Ordinary of the Diocese of Tarlac, the Chairperson of the Supreme Council of Bishops, and a member of the Executive Commission of the Church, at the time of his death. An active ecumenist widely recognized within and outside the country, the good bishop was also a staunch human rights advocate and peacemaker, and an outspoken critic of the Arroyo government.

The Tarlac Provincial PNP-SOCO Unit conducted a spot investigation of the incident. It was, however, a haphazard investigation done with mere cursory inspection of the crime scene. The place was not thoroughly examined and other people not relevant to the investigation were allowed within the scene of the crime. The handling of evidence was not done properly; and even photographs of the body were not thorough. It was a rather swift investigation that before the day ended the Philippine National Police has made an official announcement of its finding to the public that Bishop Ramento’s murder was a “simple robbery with homicide case”.

The PNP presented to the public four arrested suspects barely two days after the killing of Bishop Ramento to corroborate their claim. Tarlac PNP Provincial Director Nicanor Bartolome and PNP Chief Oscar Calderon collaborated in their statement that the “slaying of Bishop Ramento is considered solved” with the arrest of the four suspects. PNP Chief Calderon reiterated their position that Bishop Ramento’s killing was a "plain and simple case of robbery with homicide”.

Former Vice President Teofisto Guingona of the Citizens Congress for Truth and Accountability, has expressed serious concern “over the haste with which police dismiss the killing of Bishop Ramento as an ordinary case of robbery with homicide and not a case of political killing. Senator Ramon Magsaysay, Jr. filed Senate Resolution 577, directing the Senate committees on justice and human rights to inquire into the murder of a highly respected Filipino religious leader.

An independent Fact Finding Team (FFT), composed of the Promotion of Church People’s Response (PCPR) and KARAPATAN, conducted its own investigation. Basing from the elaborate data that it has gathered, the team was strongly convinced that the brutal murder of Bishop Ramento was politically motivated and a case of extra-judicial killing.

The finding of the FFT corresponded with the claim of the Church’s national leadership that the killing of Bishop Ramento was undoubtedly a case of extra-judicial killing, a political execution which was thoroughly planned and elaborately executed. The Church held the Arroyo government accountable for Bishop Ramento’s murder, and has called through the Supreme Council of Bishops (SCB) for the creation of an independent investigating body to probe into the good bishop’s brutal killing, the gross human rights violations and series of extra-judicial killings in the country.

International and local ecumenical partners, people’s organizations, and Churches in concordat with the Iglesia Filipina Independiente, condemned the killing of Bishop Ramento. Archbishop Rowan Williams of the Anglican Church, Archbishop Joris Vercammen of the Old Catholic Church in Union of Utrecht, Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori of The Episcopal Church, were among the prominent Church leaders that expressed their sympathy for the killing of Bishop Ramento and expressed serious concerns over the safety of those who work for justice and peace in the Philippines.

Jose Maria Sison, Chairperson of the International League of Peoples’ Struggle, and Luis Jalandoni, Chairperson of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) Negotiating Panel, paid tribute to the contributions of Bishop Ramento to the promotion of the rights and interests of the Filipino people, and condemned the Arroyo government for his tragic death.

The Church and the family of Bishop Ramento, represented by the Public Interest Law Center (PILC), have entered a Special Appearance in the Regional Trial Court of Tarlac City on December 2006 following PNP’s filing of a criminal case against Raymond Perez, et.al., for robbery with homicide. They, however, have informed the Court in their pleading that “they find the investigation of the case conducted by the Philippine National Police to be utterly unsatisfactory and unconvincing”.

Certain that the legal procedure initiated by the PNP was merely a ploy to cover up the real motive for the killing and to misdirect our attention from pursuing substantial legal actions in seeking justice for the murder of Bishop Ramento, we do not consider the present case in the Tarlac Regional Trial Court as the proper forum that deserves participation. It is our position that “any active participation on our part in the actual prosecution of the accused will merely co-opt us into a sham proceeding and would bind us to a result that will be a gross miscarriage of justice”. The nature of our engagement in the legal procedure would only be of “critical participation with reservations.”

While the legal procedure is ongoing, the Church, at present, has been sustaining its effort to gather international ecumenical support for the case of Bishop Ramento and for other victims of extra-judicial killings. The Obispado Maximo has initiated and participated in various endeavors to bring to the attention of its mission partners and concordat Churches the case of Bishop Ramento and issues of human rights violations in the Philippines. These endeavors include:

Participation to the Permanent People’s Tribunal

The Obispo Maximo presented the case of Bishop Ramento to the Opening of the Second Session on the Philippines at UP Diliman in October 2006 and at The Hague, The Netherlands in March 2007. The Obispo Maximo, who was supposed to join the contingent of Philippine Churches leaders to the US Congress and in The Hague, was unfortunately and suspiciously not able to acquire visa to both countries. He, nevertheless, was able to present the case of Bishop Ramento’s killing to the Permanent Peoples’ Tribunal through a video conference with the help of modern technology.

Meeting with the Primate of the Anglican Church in Canterbury

The Obispo Maximo personally met with Archbishop Rowan Williams in Lambeth Palace. He brought up the issue of serious human rights violations in the country which contributed to the death of Bishop Alberto Ramento, and appealed to the Archbishop to send a letter of concern to the Philippine Government, as well as to the Philippine Congress and Senate, on the harassments and unabated killings of political activists, journalists and church people in the country. Archbishop Rowan Williams expressed his concern over the situation and assured us of his prayers and continuous support, and especially to the case of Bishop Ramento.

Conference on Catholicity and Globalization

Our Church has participated in the Conference on Catholicity and Globalization that met yearly since 2006, along with The Episcopal Church, Old Catholic Church in Union of Utrecht and the Church of Sweden. We hosted the last and third-round of the conference in Manila this August 2008. We have been overwhelmed by the respect the concordat Churches have for Bishop Ramento and by their enthusiasm to pursue common action pertaining to his case. The conference participants were particularly interested in the “canonization” of Bishop Ramento following the papers presented by delegates from our Church. The conference adopted “The Bishop Ramento Statement: A Eucharistic Vision for a Globalized World” as a tribute to the bishop’s memory.

In the home front, the Church has initiated several conscientization activities that engaged the clergy and faithful into reflection and study of human rights issues.

The Obispado Maximo convened a Human Rights Forum and Study-Discussion on the Writ of Amparo and Writ of Habeas Data in sustaining the Church’s conscientization campaign on Bishop Ramento’s case and, also, on a number of our clergy and church workers who have been receiving threats over their lives. It also called a Prayer Assembly for Truth and Justice to educate our clergy and the faithful on the issues of the day and to encourage them to boldly live out the Church’s prophetic role in the midst of the present social and political malady in the country.

The Church has also made the yearly celebration of the IFI PEACEMAKERS an avenue to raise our unremitting call for just peace in the country, the cause to which Bishop Ramento had made the precious offering of his life.

The Obispado Maximo is likewise in the process of coming up with a special project on Human Rights under our advocacy campaign on Bishop Ramento. The program focuses on a sustained campaign on the case of Bishop Ramento and in addressing the predicament of our clergy and church workers who suffer from harassment by the military and whose life are under the constant threat of death.

Lastly, following the growing interest for Bishop Ramento’s recognition as a “Martyr of the Church”, the 2007 National Clergy Convocation has passed a resolution for the Church to look into the prospect of having him officially declared a “martyr”. The discussion has now reached the Supreme Council of Bishops, which, in turn, has created a special Episcopal Committee to study Bishop Ramento’s “martyrdom”.