TARLAC CITY — Obispo Maximo IX Alberto Ramento of the Iglesia Filipino Independiente (IFI) was killed early morning today by still-unidentified assailants in his church in Tarlac City.

Highly regarded as a progressive religious leader, Bishop Ramento has condemned attacks on leaders of activist organizations since 2001, among them Fr. William Tadena, IFI who was ambushed on March 13, 2005 by what activists now call as “death squads.”

Bagong Alyansang Makabayan-Central Luzon (Bayan-CL) in an SMS statement dubbed the killing as a “brazen attack on a peace-loving church leader,” calling it further as a “damnable imprint of a dictatorship.”

A fact-finding mission led by the human rights group Karapatan is now on its way to Tarlac City. Gitnang Luson News Service

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For Genuine Truth and Justice

Since 2001 more than 740 people who have worked with and for the poor in the Philippines have been assassinated in extrajudicial killings. They include journalists, lawyers, leaders of people's organizations, human rights activists and church workers. The killings have intensified since 2004.

Twenty-one church workers, including nine pastors and priests, have been killed since 2001.

Most of the attacks have been committed by unidentified men shooting from unmarked vehicles or motorcycles. Paramilitary groups armed by the military, and even members of the military and police, have been implicated in these killings.

While a few suspects have been detained briefly, no charges have yet been issued in relation to these killings. All cases remain unsolved.

The government has allowed these crimes to take place with impunity, and is failing in its statutory obligations to protect the right to life and to maintain the rule of law.

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Posted are photos taken at the indignation rally in connection with the killing of Pastor Isaias Sta. Rosa and student leader Rei Mon Guran. Also posted are photos taken at the funeral of Pastor Sta. Rosa. MORE