Tullio Favali (1946April 11, 1985) was an Italian priest who ministered in Zamboanga, North Cotabato and Metro Manila in the Philippines. He was the first foreign missionary to be murdered by paramilitary forces during

Martial Law Martial law is the imposition of direct military control of normal civil functions or suspension of civil law by a government, especially in response to an emergency where civil forces are overwhelmed, or in an occupied territory. Use Marti ...

, provoking public outcry from the Vatican and Italian government. His death caused international attention to human rights violations and abuses to paramilitary forces during the Marcos dictatorship.

Missions work

Favali was a member of the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions (PIME), an all-male international group of priests who are dedicated to evangelization in underdeveloped and non-Christian nations. Favali was assigned to do missions work in the Philippines, particularly in provinces in

Mindanao Mindanao ( ) ( Jawi: مينداناو) is the second-largest island in the Philippines, after Luzon, and seventh-most populous island in the world. Located in the southern region of the archipelago, the island is part of an island group of ...

. He arrived in the Philippines in 1983, and was ordained as the parish priest of La Esperanza in Tulunan, North Cotabato. He studied the Ilonggo language, which is the language spoken in many places in Mindanao.

Death

Many parts of North Cotabato were occupied by armed pseudo-religious cults that were hired by the

Marcos dictatorship At 7:17 pm on September 23, 1972, President Ferdinand Marcos announced on television that he had placed the entirety of the Philippines under martial law. This marked the beginning of a 14-year period of one-man rule that would effectively last ...

's anti-insurgency campaign. They were commissioned as paramilitary units who operated as Barrio Self-Defense Units, later called Integrated Civilian Home Defense Force or ICHDF. Among these units were the

Ilaga The Ilagâ ( Hiligaynon for ''rat'') is a Christian extremist paramilitary group based in southern Philippines. The group is predominantly composed of Visayans (mostly Hiligaynon-speakers), embracing a form of Folk Catholicism that utilizes amu ...

whose members included the brothers Norberto Jr., Edilberto and Elpidio Manero, known for their killing sprees. Favali was called by townspeople for help after the Manero brothers shot the town's tailor. When the Manero brothers saw him arrive and enter a house, Norberto Jr. dragged his motorcycle and set it on fire. When Favali hurried out after seeing the fire, Edilberto shot the priest point blank in his head, trampled on his body and fired again. This caused the priest's skull to crack open, and Norberto Jr. picked the brains and displayed them to the horrified witnesses. The brothers, along with a few other gang members, stood by laughing and heckling. The Manero brothers and five others were found guilty of murder, and sentenced to life imprisonment, through the

Free Legal Assistance Group The Free Legal Assistance Group (FLAG) is a nationwide organization of human rights lawyers in the Philippines. It was founded in 1974 by Sen. Jose W. Diokno, Lorenzo Tañada and Joker Arroyo during the martial law era under former Presiden ...

. The court also found Norberto Jr. guilty of

arson Arson is the crime of willfully and deliberately setting fire to or charring property. Although the act of arson typically involves buildings, the term can also refer to the intentional burning of other things, such as motor vehicles, wat ...

Legacy

Favalli is honored at the Wall of Remembrance at the

Bantayog ng mga Bayani The Bantayog ng mga Bayani (), sometimes simply referred to as the Bantayog, is a monument, museum, and historical research center in Quezon City, Philippines, which honors the martyrs and heroes of the struggle against the dictatorship of for ...

(Monument of the Heroes), which is dedicated to memorializing " individuals who lived and died in defiance of the repressive regime that ruled over the Philippines from 1972 to 1986". In the film Orapronobis, a priest bears likeness to Favali, and was killed by rebels in a similar fashion.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Favali, Tullio 1946 births 1985 deaths Italian Roman Catholic missionaries Roman Catholic missionaries in the Philippines Marcos martial law victims Individuals honored at the Bantayog ng mga Bayani Religious workers honored at the Bantayog ng mga Bayani Italian people murdered abroad People murdered in the Philippines

Missions work

Death

Legacy

See also

References