Palma urges police to investigate ambush of policeman in Samboan

Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma is encouraging the police to investigate the ambush of a policeman in Samboan town, Cebu on Good Friday | Delta Dyrecka Letigio

CEBU CITY, Philippines — Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma is calling on the police to investigate the ambush of an active policeman and his family in Samboan town, 151 kilometers south of Cebu City, on Good Friday, April 19.

Police Master Sergeant Roy Calavida together with his sister and three other family members survived an ambush by motorcycle-riding assailants on their way home after attending a Mass in St. Michael Archangel Church in Barangay Poblacion past 7 p.m.

Read more: Policeman, sister survive Good Friday ambush in Samboan town

The archbishop said the value of life would become lesser with every killing and every attempt to take a life of a person for whatever reasons.

“Kini ingon nga mga incidents nagdala kanato ug kasubo kay as if ang kinabuhi gamay nalang og value. (These incidents brings us sadness because it is as if the value of life has somewhat diminished),” said the prelate.

“Where is this coming from? Perhaps others will say this is because of impunity and death. Lisod nato masabtan pero I made mention nga dunay kalipay ta sa pagkabanhaw, kining pagtuo nga the power of God and the grace of God is with us. (It is difficult to understand but I made mention that that there is happiness in the Resurrection, the faith in the power of God, and the grace of God is with us),” he added.

The prelate said the thousands of deaths in the past years related to extra-judicial killings had brought agony and pain to the families of the victims and to the entire nation.

Palma said that Catholics should continue to pray and to hope for a change in the landscape amid the recent killings and never lose faith in God that somehow the value of life would be uplifted once more.

The archbishop also encouraged the faithful to not judge the police despite the doubts of some human rights organizations and even politicians about their direct involvement to the killings.

He said the doubt on the police had been brought by the lack of results to the investigations of many of these deaths which had made people think that the police were part of the killings themselves.

With this, the prelate encouraged the police to continue to investigate the deaths of the recent killings and attempted killings in order to provide justice to the victims and their families and to dissipate the doubts of the public about their alleged involvement.

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Palma also said that it could not be discounted that these deaths related to drugs might be perpetuated by the drug lords themselves and he encouraged the public not to be quick to judge the police.

“Let us continue to hope that by the power of God and by the grace of God, change will come for the better,” said the prelate.

The archbishop said he was hoping that the investigations would lead to the identification of the perpetrators in the hopes of bringing justice to the family.

He also said that he was hoping that justice would be given to all the victims of the spate of killings in Cebu./dbs