Auxiliary Bishop Oscar Florencio officiates the Mass commemorating the first death anniversary of Archbishop Emeritus Ricardo Cardinal Vidal at the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral Mausoleum.
CEBU Auxiliary Bishop Oscar Florencio on Thursday urged the people not to make conclusions as to who is responsible for the killings in Cebu, even as he expressed support for a Senate investigation into the incidents, a number of which were allegedly perpetrated by some policemen.
“The killings have been alarming. They are real,” he said in an interview.
He said the public should let the investigation take its course.
“I will not be surprised (if the police will be linked to the killings) because anybody can do it. It could be this group or that group. But let us not blame or point fingers at anyone right now. Let an investigation be done and from there we can move on,” he said.
“I hope something good will come out of this. Let’s hope and pray. Our end goal here is peace —peace in our community,” he added.
Last week, senators from the minority bloc called on the Senate to conduct an investigation into the recent killings in Cebu.
Opposition senators filed Senate Resolution No. 915 because they were “gravely concerned” over the killings in Cebu, especially after allegations that police officers implementing the government’s war on drugs are involved in extrajudicial killings.
A tally made by Cebu Daily News showed that at least 198 persons were killed in Cebu since February this year.
Of the number, 47 were killed in separate police operations while the rest were gunned down by unknown assailants.
Most of these murders remain unsolved.
Chief Supt. Debold Sinas, director of the Central Visayas police, repeatedly denied insinuations that the police have a hand in the killings and said he welcomed any investigation because the police were not hiding anything.
As spiritual adviser of all police units and the military in the Philippines, Florencio said he kept on reminding the chaplains of the different law enforcement agencies to always uphold and proclaim the teachings of the Church, including the respect for the sanctity of life.
He hoped that those tasked to investigate the series of murders would seriously get to the bottom of the incidents.
“I hope they deliver otherwise we face a blank wall,” the bishop said.