NPA joins hunt for priest-killer

New People’s Army (NPA) guerrillas have launched their own hunt for fugitive priest-killer Norberto Manero Jr., Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) founder Jose Maria Sison said yesterday.

Manero, who was sentenced to life in 1987 for the 1985 murder of Italian missionary Tullio Favali, is being sought by police after bolting the Sarangani provincial jail last month.

"The Magtanggol Roque Command of the NPA has decided to track down and arrest Norberto Manero at the earliest opportunity," Sison said from his refuge in the Netherlands.

Last week, Presidential Assistant for Mindanao Jesus Dureza said Manero had signified his intention to surrender "in the next few days."

Still, a communist guerrilla unit operating in the southern Philippines has joined the manhunt.

"They are investigating the possibility that the fugitive is in their area," Sison told dzMM radio in an interview.

He said the NPA, the CPP’s 11,500-member armed wing, would "try and mete punishment" to the fugitive if they capture him.

Sison alleged that Manero had cannibalized Favali’s corpse and that the convict’s band of pro-government militias had "killed many innocent civilians as well as Muslim separatists and NPA members."

Executive Secretary Renato de Villa said the government welcomes any assistance by the NPA for the capture of Manero.

But at the same time, he reminded the rebels that they have no authority to subject the convicted man to trial or execute him.

"It would be best if they turn him over to authorities in Sarangani," de Villa said.

The Philippine government last week gave an ultimatum for Manero to surrender without preconditions.

Known as Commander Bucay, Manero headed a paramilitary group composed of cultists known as Ilaga. He was given a 40-year prison term in 1987 in connection with the murder of Italian priest Tullio Favali in 1985, but his sentence was lowered to 24 years by former President Fidel Ramos in 1997.

After serving more than 18 years in jail, he became eligible for pardon. Former President Joseph Estrada freed him on a conditional pardon on Dec. 16, 1999.

In March 2000, Manero was arrested and jailed on orders of Judge Jaime Infante of the Sarangani Regional Trial Court Branch 38 while undergoing trial for the murder of brothers Ali and Mamabawatan Mamalumpong in South Cotabato in 1977. – Marichu Villanueva