Surrender, Negros clergy prods massacre suspect

BACOLOD CITY — Church leaders have joined the call for the peaceful surrender of the suspect in last Sunday’s massacre of six members of a haciendero family and their two housemaids here.

Bishop Vicente Navarra, papal administrator of the Diocese of Bacolod, said the Social Action Center is ready to assist suspect Bemon Gallo in case he surrenders.

Gallo worked as houseboy for the Rivilla family. He escaped after allegedly stabbing and hacking to death Carlos Rivilla Jr., 76, his wife Florinda, 75; son Guillermo Benrico, 42, grandsons Mark Anthony, 13, Guillermo Benrico Jr., 11, and John Michael, 9, and housemaids Dolores Ogatis and Ritchel Gonzales.

The Rivillas’ driver, Rudy Alfonso, suffered multiple hack wounds. Another Rivilla grandchild, Carla, escaped the massacre when she failed to come home Saturday night from a school retreat.

The slain Rivillas were interred in the family mausoleum at the Bacolod Memorial Park yesterday.

"It is very lamentable that, in this society, such a crime could be committed, especially against innocent young children who are deprived of their future," said Bishop Antonio Fortich as he also urged Gallo to give himself up.

Fortich called for prayers for the massacre victims’ families as they endure the tragic deaths of their loved ones and await justice for their loss.

Bishop Camilo Gregorio said, "It is not only (the families) who were hurt here, but also the country and the city."

The Rivilla clan, in a statement, appealed to President Estrada to impose the full force of the law on the killer or killers, and called on the public to provide information that will help solve the case.

"The imprint of the images of our fallen loved ones will forever haunt us. While this is indelible, it can only be appeased if justice is swiftly served," said Carlos Benedict Rivilla, the oldest grandson of the Rivilla couple.

About 1,000 family members attended the necrological Mass for the slain Rivillas at the Redemptorist Church where the Rivilla couple regularly heard Masses.

Annette Larrazabal, sister of Mayette Rivilla, estranged wife of Guillermo Benrico, appealed for prayers for the three slain Rivilla children whom she described as "little angels."

The Larrazabals hail from Ormoc City in Leyte where the Rivillas own the Ormoc Sugar Central.

Annette gave the message on behalf of the Larrazabals and Mayette who arrived home from the United States yesterday.

"We cannot question, we can only accept," said Rene Fuentes, a nephew of the Rivilla couple. While he lamented the death of his grandparents, he said his heart bleeds for the three children, one of whom (Mark) was his godson.

"Somewhere beneath a Christmas tree is a gift for Mark. Now I have to give it to somebody else," he said.

Another Rivilla grandson, Carlos Lizares, talked about his lolo as a soft-spoken man whose patience was very admirable. "Talk to him about the latest automobile models and you would be the apple of his eyes," he recalled.

Lizares, meanwhile, described his lola as the perfect example of a loving and doting mother and grandparent.

Benrico, on the other hand, loved the fun life, according to his closest cousin William Kramer, adding they often wondered when he would simmer down. But he said that Benrico was a doting father to his three sons.