Father Marcelito Paez, a 72-year-old priest and a resident of Barangay Baloc, Santo Domingo town was shot dead in Nueva Ecija on Monday night by unidentified gunmen.
According to Human rights group Karapatan, Fr. Paez was the former parish priest in Guimba and coordinator of the Rural Missionaries of the Philippines in Central Luzon.
Superintendent Eliseo Tanding, director of the Nueva Ecija Provincial Police Office, told the press that the priest was on his way home on board a Toyota Innova when the gunmen shot him along the Jaen-Zaragoza Road in Sitio Sanggalang, Barangay Lambakin at around 7:30 p.m.
Paez sustained multiple gunshot wounds from the assault.
Based on the report by GMA Network, authorities were able to retrieve several spent bullets of a .45 pistol from the crime scene.
The authorities are still investigating the incident.
Meanwhile, the Diocese of San Jose, Nueva Ecija condemned the killing of Fr. Paez.
“Kami ang kaparian ng Diyosesis ng San Jose, Nueva Ecija, kaisa ang mahal na obisypo ay mariin na kinukondena ang hindi makatarungan at marahas na pagpaslay kay Fr. Tito Paez,” it said.
“We have been confronted with these challenges in the past, ang normal na reaction is to investigate and make sure na if indeed ‘yung government forces have been remiss or have been found violating human rights, we will make appropriate actions,” Armed Forces chief General Rey Leonardo Guerrero, on the other hand, said.