Remembering Ampatuan massacre, marching against impunity

On the second anniversary of the Ampatuan massacre, families of the victims, journalists, students, human rights advocates and supporters reiterated their calls for justice and an end to impunity.

The massacre in Ampatuan town, Maguindanao on November 23, 2009 claimed the lives of 57 individuals, of whom 32 are journalists and media workers. One of the victims, Reynaldo Momay, remains missing to this day.

The commemoration coincided with the first International Day to End Impunity. International media watchdogs and press freedom organizations chose November 23 because of the massacre, regarded to as the biggest blow against press freedom in the world’s recent history.

Protesters converged in front of the University of Santo Tomas in Espana boulevard in Manila. At around 4 p.m., they marched toward Chino Roces (formerly Mendiola) bridge stopping shortly at the Nicanor Reyes street for a short program.

Nestor Burgos Jr., chairman of the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP), said: “The eyes of the whole world are on the Philippines because of this crime and especially because until now, there is no justice and the killings, enforced disappearances and other human rights violations continue.”

According to the Freedom Fund for Filipino Journalists (FFFJ), ten journalists have been killed since the Ampatuan massacre, six of whom were murdered under the new Aquino administration.

Meanwhile, the Alliance Against Impunity in Mindanao recorded 71 cases of extrajudicial killings since November 23 last year, noting that the number has surpassed human rights statistics in the first two years of the Arroyo government. Fifty-five have been killed under the Aquino administration, according to human rights group Karapatan.

In his speech, Luis Teodoro, deputy director of the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR) and former dean of the University of the Philippines College of Mass Communications (UP-CMC) pointed out the importance of the Ampatuan massacre case, saying it is a test to the nation’s judicial system and democracy. Teodoro said President Benigno S. Aquino III must realize this and that he must act to ensure that trial will have a credible conclusion.

Two years since the massacre took place, only two of the principal suspects have so far been arraigned. Of the 196 suspects, more than a hundred remain at large. The trial is locked up in bail hearings, with 48 suspects filing petitions for bail.

Greg Fabros of the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers (NUPL) expressed solidarity with the journalists. The NUPL also lost two members, both of whom are women, to the massacre.

The Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) also joined the march. Their speaker, Jose Cabrera, called anew the Aquino administration to disband private armies. The Aquino administration has so far not heeded the demand of international human rights groups to dismantle paramilitary groups. Like his predecessor, Aquino said these groups act as multipliers in the fight against insurgency.

Renato Reyes Jr., secretary general of Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) lauded the relatives of the victims for filing of charges against former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in connection with the Ampatuan massacre. Reyes pointed out that Arroyo tolerated and provided arms to the Ampatuan clan, primary suspects in the Ampatuan massacre.

From Nicanor street all the way to Chino Roces bridge, journalists and students made a “Trail of Impunity,” outlining human bodies on the asphalted road.

At the foot of the Chino Roces bridge, a stone-throw away from Malacanang, protesters recreated the crime scene of the Ampatuan massacre.

Widows and other relatives of the victims led the lighting of the candles.

Journalists and supporters followed suit.

Students of the UP-CMC, led by their dean Roland Tolentino, joined the protest. In his speech, Tolentino said the Ampatuan massacre brought chilling effect to the future journalists.

“Mr. Aquino’s silence on the most recent incidents of journalists’ murders is equally unforgivable,” the UP-CMC said in its statement. “And yet a statement from him each time a journalist is murdered declaring his impatience over the failure of the police to prevent it, and immediate police action in furtherance of the filing of the appropriate cases as a consequence, could help make would be killers hesitate by suggesting that things have changed and they could be prosecuted.”

According to the FFFJ, except for increasing the budget of the Witness Protection Program, the Aquino administration has taken almost none of the steps agreed upon in the August 2010 meeting between media advocacy and journalists’ organizations and his communication group and the Department of Justice as necessary to stop the killings. Among these steps were Malacañang support for changes in the rules of court to speed up the judicial process, and the inclusion of media representatives in the formation of Quick Response Teams to immediately investigate killings of journalists and assure the preservation of evidence in the crime site.

Before the program ended, representatives of media organizations pledged to continue the struggle for press freedom and civil liberties.