By Arjay L. Balinbin, Reporter
President Rodrigo R. Duterte on Sunday said Catholic priest Mark Anthony Y. Ventura was killed because of his supposed illicit affairs with married women, including the wife of a certain vice mayor.
In his speech during the annual town fiesta of the Municipality of Tabogon, Cebu on Sunday afternoon, Mr. Duterte showed to his Cebuano audience a matrix titled “Possible Motive: Love Triangle” and a picture Fr. Ventura.
“Tan-awa ang matrix (Look at the matrix). Ngano di ka man mamatay? Naay gi-asawa og bise mayor, naay asawa og police, naay asawa og sundalo, naay asawa — dako nga negosyante. Eh ‘di patay ka gyud. Mangabit ka’g asawa’g sundalo. Mangabit ka’g asawa’g police, vice mayor,” the President said.
(Look at the Matrix. Why would you not be killed? You had an affair [with a wife] of a vice mayor, of a police, a soldier, a businessman. You would really get killed.)
He added: “Unya ngano ako man ang pasanginlan? Ang iyang kaubang parish priest, naminyo og cadre sa NPA diha sa Cordillera. So dili NPA nagpatay ana. Ang NPA (New People’s Army) may nagpabuto gani pagkamatay ani.”
(Then why blame me? His fellow parish priest is married to a member of the NPA there in Cordillera, so is it not the NPA who killed him? It was the NPA who reported first about this.)
Fr. Ventura was murdered late last month right after celebrating Mass at a gymnasium in Peña Weste village on the outskirts of Gattaran town in the province of Cagayan.
He is the second cleric killed in around four months, the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) said, citing also Fr. Marcelito Paez’s murder in December last year by still unidentified gunmen in Jaen, Nueva Ecija.

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