Background: The Ilaga and Conflict in Cotabato
Norberto Manero Jr., widely known by the nom de guerre "Kumander Bucay," was a leader of the Ilaga, an anti-communist paramilitary vigilante movement active in Mindanao, in the southern Philippines. The Ilaga, whose name is often glossed as "rat" in Visayan, emerged from agrarian and sectarian tensions in the Cotabato region during the early 1970s and was associated with extreme violence against perceived communist sympathizers and against Muslim communities.
By the mid-1980s, in the final years of the Marcos martial-law era, North Cotabato remained a zone of intense conflict between government forces, paramilitary groups, the communist New People's Army, and Moro armed movements. Manero and his brothers operated in and around the municipality of Tulunan, where Catholic missionaries of the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions (PIME) ran parishes and were sometimes accused by paramilitary elements of sympathizing with leftist causes.
The Victim: Father Tullio Favali
Tullio Favali was an Italian Roman Catholic priest and member of PIME, serving as a missionary in North Cotabato. At the time of his death he was associated with the parish work in Tulunan. According to court records and contemporary reporting, the paramilitary group's intended principal target had actually been another PIME missionary, Father Peter Geremia, an outspoken critic of military and paramilitary abuses; Favali was killed in his place after Geremia did not return to the area as expected.
Favali had reportedly gone to investigate after learning that armed men were threatening residents in the vicinity of Crossing La Esperanza. His killing became one of the most notorious acts of anti-clerical and paramilitary violence in the Philippines during the period.
The Murder, 11 April 1985
On 11 April 1985, at Barangay La Esperanza in Tulunan, North Cotabato, a group led by Norberto Manero Jr. confronted Father Favali. According to the Supreme Court's later findings, Norberto Jr. dragged the priest's motorcycle into the road and set it on fire. When Favali rushed out on seeing his burning motorcycle, Edilberto Manero shot him point-blank in the head.
The attackers continued firing into the fallen priest's body; news reports stated he was struck by roughly 22 bullets. Witnesses described the killers trampling and desecrating the body, with portions of the priest's skull and brain matter displayed to passers-by while members of the group laughed and sang. The brutality of the act drew national and international condemnation, including from the Catholic Church in Italy and the Philippines.
Trial and Conviction
PC Captain Winston Ebersole identified the Manero brothers as suspects within a day of the killing, and both Norberto Jr. and his brother Edilberto were captured in mid-1985. The accused were arraigned on 3 October 1985 and pleaded not guilty.
On 4 September 1987, Judge Benjamin Estanol of the Regional Trial Court convicted the defendants. Eight men received life imprisonment (reclusion perpetua) for the murder, with Norberto Manero Jr. receiving additional penalties for arson and attempted murder. The case was affirmed by the Supreme Court of the Philippines in People v. Manero (G.R. Nos. 86883-85), decided 29 January 1993, which upheld the convictions on the basis of conspiracy. The prosecution was notable as one of the few killings from the martial-law period to be successfully tried, spanning both the Marcos and Aquino administrations.
Imprisonment, Escapes and Pardon Controversy
The convicts were transferred to the national penitentiary in Muntinlupa (Bilibid) in September 1987. Norberto Manero Jr. reportedly converted to Islam in February 1988. He escaped custody in 1992, an event authorities initially concealed, and was involved in further escapes and legal proceedings in subsequent years, including a separate murder charge for which he was acquitted in 2002.
In December 1999, President Joseph Estrada granted Manero a conditional pardon, prompting strong objections from the Diocese of Kidapawan and Church groups. Estrada revoked the pardon in March 2000 after the controversy and the pending separate charges. His brothers Edilberto and Elpidio Manero were released in May 2003 after serving roughly 15 years and 8 months. Norberto Manero Jr. was himself released in January 2008 under an order signed by Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez. The case remains a touchstone in Philippine discussions of paramilitary violence, impunity, and human rights, and Father Favali continues to be commemorated annually in North Cotabato.
