Priest gunned down in Nueva Ecija

A parish priest was killed in Nueva Ecija on Monday evening, December 4, by unidentified motorcycle-riding gunmen, a police official said Tuesday.

Father Marcelito Paez, 72, was on board his vehicle traversing Jaen-Zaragoza Road in Sitio Sanggalang Barangay Lambakin around 7:30 p.m. when he was gunned down.

Superintendent Eliseo Tanding, Nueva Ecija Provincial Police Office chief, said initial investigation showed that four men on board two motorcycles followed the priest before they shot him several times.

He said Paez was rushed to the Gonzales General Hospital, but the victim was pronounced dead at around 10 p.m. due to the gunshot wounds he obtained at the back near his spinal cord and another that went through his kidney.

“Buhay pa siya while on the way sa hospital. Nagbiro pa nga raw si father doon sa mga nagsugod sa kanya sa hospital. Wala naman din daw syang sinabing nakaaway o naiisip na may galit sa kanya (He was still alive on the way to the hospital. He even made a joke. He said he could not think of anybody who has a grudge against him),” said Tandi ng.

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Ceferino, the priest’s brother, however, said they cannot think of anybody who has a motive to kill Paez noting that he was a friendly person. He said the aging priest is staying in a retirement home in Santo Domingo and was just invited to celebrate Mass in different areas.

Tanding said investigation on the incident is ongoing. (Third Anne Peralta-Malonzo/SunStar Philippines)