Man 'wanting to see' Cebu archbishop shot dead by cops

MANILA, Philippines — Police shot dead on Tuesday an armed man who was looking for Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma and tried to enter the archbishop's residence.

This incident comes after the recent months saw the killings of Catholic priests Richmond Nilo in Nueva Ecija on June 10, Mark Ventura in Cagayan last April and activist priest Fr. Marcelito Paez also in Nueva Ecija in December last year.

"We wish to inform the public that an incident took place in the Archbishop's residence this morning resulting in the death of an unidentified person wanting to see the Archbishop who is in Manila," said Msgr. Joseph Tan, the Cebu archdiocese's media liaison officer who confirmed the incident in a statement.

The person, whose name the police are yet to disclose, was said to have been looking for Palma, who is still in Manila coming from the recently concluded 117th plenary session of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines.

Tan said police was called after the man who was riding a motorcycle refused to leave.

He, however, assured that there was no prior threat to Palma before Tuesday’s shootout.

The killings of the priests in recent months have prompted some to warn about the possible pattern of attacks on the Catholic clergy, who has been critical of some of the government's policies.

Government officials have insisted that the killings of priests and in recent weeks of local government executives are not part of a wider pattern and are isolated incidents.

Just recently, President Rodrigo Duterte said in a speech that Ventura had an illicit relationship based on the electronic conversations the police had supposedly gathered.

Last week, the Philippine National Police said that four suspects in the killing of Nila were already in police custody. —? Philstar.com intern Christian De Lano Deiparine