Priest scolds mourners in funeral Masses; call for his ouster mounts

CEBU, Philippines- Monsignor Juanito Tuvilla, parish priest of the Catholic church in Sta. Barbara town of Iloilo, is now facing again increasing calls for his ouster after he allegedly scolded a mourning family during a funeral service last July 19.

Ernesto Caberoy, the son of the dead woman, managed to took a cellphone video of the incident showing the priest, allegedly in a rude manner, ordering the people in attendance to transfer to other seats, while blurting out that he should be followed because he was the one in-charge.

Later that day, Tuvilla allegedly interrupted a funeral service ministered by his assistant parish priest, Fr. Alfone Marie Berbegal. While one of the family members was speaking on the microphone, Tuvilla "arrogantly threatened the people that he would turn off the lights, take the mic and cut off the electricity."

During Tuvilla's homily, he allegedly described residents of Barangay Dalid as "matakaw sang carabao" (theft of carabaos), a statement that Barangay Chairman Rolly Sorongon had attested to have been uttered by the priest.

Sorongon told The Freeman that many of the residents were already fed up with the priest's behavior, and that the Barangay Council would come up with a resolution asking the Archdiocese of Jaro to oust Tuvilla from the Sta. Barbara parish.

The call for Tuvilla's ouster has increased in numbers, especially those posted on Facebook. One FB user, named Serafin, said: "No wonder the Church is losing its members to other religious denominations because of these Damaso-like attitudes."

While others were quick to judge, some netizens however recommended that Tuvilla and the complainants should sit down and talk things over.

FB user Renz said "there's nothing wrong with telling bereaved families that their time is up but the manner of saying it is very important."

Another FB user from nearby Cabatuan town, where Tuvilla's family came from, described the incident as "humiliating" pointing that it was not the first time that parishioners petitioned for Tuvilla's ouster. He claimed that the priest was also booted out of Pavia and Dingle towns.

But someone came in defense of Tuvilla. FB user Joemar argued that how could Tuvilla be ousted when he served Pavia for 24 years and Dingle for more than six years. He then dared the bashers to "see for themselves the improvements Tuvilla did in his previous parishes."

In 2011, the Archdiocese of Jaro investigated two priests, one of whom was Tuvilla, for various complaints. The Dingle municipal government reportedly even sought for his relief.

One complaint against him was that he did not finish the requiem mass when the widow of the deceased did not stop from sobbing or wailing. The outcome of the archdiocese's investigation however was not made public.

Meanwhile, parishioners of Sta. Barbara claimed they have avoided hearing Mass if Tuvilla is the celebrant.