VILLAGERS IN Basilan province have unveiled a garden and a plaza dedicated to a Catholic missionary priest who was slain by the Abu Sayyaf 20 years ago.
Barangay Tumahubong
in the town of Sumisip unveiled the “Father Rhoel Gallardo, CMF, and Companions
Plaza” on October 23. A school building was also dedicated to Father Gallardo.
“This is a
way of acknowledging the martyrdom of Father Gallardo and his companions,” said
Claretian priest Arvin Buenconsejo Bellen, the priest at St. Vincent Ferrer
Parish in Tumahubong.
Bishop Leo
Dalmao of Isabela City, community leaders, both Muslim and Christian, and
villagers witnessed the unveiling of the plaza and the garden.
On March 21,
2000, the terrorist group attacked Claret School in Tumahubong and abducted
Father Gallardo, the school director and several teachers, including dozens of
innocent students.
After a month
and a half - on May 3, 2000 - Father Gallardo was killed in a crossfire between
security forces who tried to rescue the hostages, and the Abu Sayyaf.
Father Bellen
said the area in front of the village church “was a witness to the pain,
struggle, and joy” of the community. “It was where the bodies of those who died
were laid and where people cried looking for their abducted relatives,” he said.
Father Bellen
said the slain Claretian missionary inspired him to become a priest. “When I
heard about the abduction of a Claretian missionary on the news, my eyes were
opened to the religious life and so I joined the congregation,” he said.
Father Bellen
said the initiative to rename the village square after the slain priest came
from the villagers. “It was not the parish, nor the government, but the
community that declared that this plaza should be in honor of Father Rhoel,” he
stressed, adding, the decision highlighted the “closeness” of the missionaries
to the people, not only to the Catholics, but also to the Muslims and the
indigenous peoples in the area.
The unveiling
of the plaza was scheduled last May 3 in time for the 20th death anniversary of
Father Gallardo, but it was postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. “This plaza
is now a symbol and a reminder of understanding beyond our religion, our group,
our principles,” said Father Bellen. (Marielle Lucenio - LiCAS. With a report from Zamboanga Post.)
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