Hundreds of Catholic priests on the main island of Luzon have told the Government they will stop giving religious services unless police solve the murder of a 32-year-old cleric within 40 days.
An officer of the church's Social Action Centre said the priests in 39 archdioceses had decided they would stop saying Mass if this month's murder of Father Jesus Palileo was not solved.
'We will close our churches and stop saying Mass to show our strong protestations over the inefficiency of the police,' said Father Rosendo Ignacio, executive secretary of the centre.
'The police have a few weeks to solve the case or we will bring our people out to the streets.' Father Palileo, who had campaigned against illegal drugs, was stabbed to death by suspected members of a drug syndicate in Cavite province, south of Manila. His body, which showed signs of torture, was found in a rice field in Kawit town on October 5.
As a predominantly Catholic country, priests in the Philippines occupy a position of influence in the community. The murder of Palileo, which came as a shock to many people, was expected to put the police under scrutiny.
