AGENTS of the National Bureau of Investigation arrested the suspected gunman in the killing of Italian priest Fr. Fausto Tentorio last October in North Cotabato, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima told Department of Justice reporters in a text message.

De Lima identified the suspect as Jimmy Ato. His brother Robert, who was the driver of the getaway motorcycle, remains at large.

Both are from Sitio Mahiwakwak, Kolaman Valley, Arakan, North Cotabato.  Jimmy has an outstanding arrest warrant issued by Cotabato RTC Branch 13 for arson with homicide.

De Lima said the arrest was made possible through the coordination of local authorities in the area.

Tentorio was gunned down inside the parish of the Mother of Perpetual Help in Arakan Valley town in North Cotabato just as he was preparing to leave his convent for a clergy meeting in Kidapawan City.

Tentorio was the third missionary of the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions (PIME) to be killed in Mindanao. He is a compatriot of Fr. Tullio Favali, who was killed by paramilitary men led by cult leader Norberto Manero on April 11, 1985 in Tulunan, North Cotabato, and Fr. Salvatore Carzedda, who was assassinated by motorcycle-riding gunmen in Zamboanga City on March 20, 1992.