ALAMIN: Dahil sa matinding takot umano, Laguna priests nag-armas

CALAMBA CITY — Some priests in Laguna are secretly acquiring firearms for protection against would-be assassins following the cold-blooded killings of three clergymen and the frustrated murder of a fourth in a span of just six months.

The bloody attacks caused “chills in our spines,” several priests in Calamba City said.

“And the PNP (Philippine National Police) leadership saying ‘there is no cause for alarm’ is in itself more alarming,” one of them said, referring to a recent statement by PNP Director General Oscar Albayalde.

The priests spoke on condition of anonymity for security reasons.

On Friday, thousands of mourners joined the funeral march for Fr. Richmond Nilo, 44, who was gunned down as he prepared for a Mass on June 10 in Zaragoza town, in Nueva Ecija province — the third priest killed since December.

‘Just in case’

Before Nilo, Fr. Mark Ventura, 37, was shot dead after saying Mass in Gattaran town, Cagayan province, on April 29. Fr. Marcelito Paez, 72, was ambushed by motorcycle-riding gunmen in Jaen, Nueva Ecija, on Dec. 5, 2017.

Just days before Nilo’s killing, Fr. Rey Urmeneta, 64, a former police chaplain, was shot and wounded in this city.

One priest who is availing himself of a .45-caliber pistol is encouraging other clergymen to secure firearms for self-defense legally.

Another priest said he was “OK” with owning a .45-caliber or a 9mm pistol “just in case.”

A third priest was considering a gun of a higher caliber because, in his view, a .22-caliber pistol was only good for hunting birds and small animals.

Any criminal will just laugh it off,” he said.

Lawyer Francisco dela Rosa, a parishioner from Calamba, said he supported arming priests for self-defense.

“If priest-killers can brazenly carry and use their illegal firearms to kill men of God, why can the priests not carry their legal firearms to defend themselves?” Dela Rosa told the Inquirer in a text message.

Against Satan’s minions