Search Operation Launched for Suspect in 2011 Murder of Italian Catholic Missionary Priest

Strategic Insights -

Police and military officials in Arakan town, Cotabato province, launched a search operation for Jonie Corbala, alias 'Kumander Ering,' a suspect in the 2011 murder of Fr. Fausto 'Pops' Tentorio, an Italian Catholic missionary priest. Corbala, a leader of an anticommunist tribal warrior group, was last seen being allegedly seized by three armed men while driving a motorcycle to his home on the eve of his planned surrender to the Army. The search operation comes after investigators gathered initial reports that Corbala was supposed to surrender to the 72nd Infantry Battalion, but he went missing.

Key Takeaways:

  • Jonie Corbala, alias 'Kumander Ering,' is a suspect in the 2011 murder of Fr. Fausto 'Pops' Tentorio, an Italian Catholic missionary priest.
  • Corbala, a leader of an anticommunist tribal warrior group, was last seen being allegedly seized by three armed men while driving a motorcycle to his home on the eve of his planned surrender to the Army.
  • Police investigators recovered empty bullet shells of an M16 rifle at the site where Corbala was last seen, but did not find any traces of blood or indication of a commotion.
  • Corbala has warrants of arrest for murder, kidnapping, and serious illegal detention.
  • If captured, Corbala would have been the third suspect in the Tentorio killing under the authorities' custody, along with Jimmy Ato and Ricardo Dorado.
  • Fr. Tentorio was the second Italian Pime missionary felled by assassins' bullets in Cotabato, after Fr. Tulio Favali was killed in Tulunan town in 1985.

Statistics:

  • 2011: The year Fr. Fausto 'Pops' Tentorio was murdered.
  • 3: Number of armed men allegedly involved in Corbala's seizure.
  • 72nd Infantry Battalion: The Army unit Corbala was supposed to surrender to.
  • 2: Number of Italian Pime missionary priests killed in Cotabato, including Tentorio and Fr. Tulio Favali.
  • 1985: The year Fr. Tulio Favali was killed in Tulunan town.

Sources:

  • "Police launch search op for suspect in 2011 murder of Fr. Fausto 'Pops' Tentorio." (No publication date specified)
  • [No other sources mentioned in the original text]