A 37-year-old priest, Mark Ventura, was gunned down while talking to choir members in a gymnasium following Mass on the 29th of April, 2019.
The violent shooting took place in the municipality of Gattaran, Cagayan, in the Philippines
Ventura was an active anti-mining advocate and vocal supporter and aid to the indigenous communities within the region.
The unidentified assailants are suspected to be motivated by Ventura’s activism as just four months prior, another priest who was similarly an active anti-mining advocate was also gunned down.
The Commission of Human Rights in the Philippines has since called for justice over what is deemed the « brazen and brutal killing » as human and environmental rights defenders are being targeted with impunity under the Duterte administration.