Press club, other groups mark 5th anniversary of Maguindanao massacre

Students and media groups participate in a torch parade condemning the slow pace of the trial of the 197 suspects in the Maguindanao massacre on Friday, ahead of the fifth anniversary of the killings on Sunday. Fifty-eight people, including 32 media workers, were killed in the worst political violence in Philippine history. AFP FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—Government, protect the witnesses. Prosecution panel, clean up your act.

In observance of the fifth anniversary of the Maguindanao massacre, these two simple specific demands were made by over 500 members of media organizations such as the National Press Club, the Confederation of Asean Journalists and the Burgos Media Center, along with the Metro Manila chapter of the multisectoral activist group Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan), at a gathering at the NPC Building in Intramuros Friday evening.

Focusing on these two aspects of the case could expedite proceedings and bring justice to those who were slain as well as their families, said NPC president Joel Egco.

Fifty-eight people, including 32 journalists and other media workers, were killed on November 23, 2009, in what has been described as the biggest election-related killing in the country and the biggest ever killing of journalists anywhere in the world.

“Another witness was killed just last Tuesday. This shows just how lax the government is in ensuring the safety of the witnesses,” said Egco.

He was referring to the killing of Dennis Sakal and the wounding of Sukarno Butch Saudagal last Tuesday in Cotabato. Both were former aides of the Ampatuans, the politically powerful clan whose members had ruled Maguindanao from the mid-1980s and have been blamed for the massacre and numerous other killings.

Sakal and Saudagal were on their way to meet with Maguindanao Governor Esmael Mangudadatu’s lawyers to formalize their testimonies as witnesses in the massacre case when they were shot by at least six men in Shariff Aguak.

Sakal joined at least three other witnesses who were killed in the course of the trial of Andal Ampatuan Sr. and son Andal Ampatuan Jr., allegedly the masterminds behind the massacre, and other co-accused.

“Where is the witness protection program? Why does this safety mechanism seem so weak? That is our No. 1 concern,” Egco said.

The lack of unity among members of the prosecution panel is another roadblock that the case is facing, said Egco.

Tension rose between public and some private prosecutors when the former decided to partially rest its case against 28 of the over 100 accused in the case, including the younger Ampatuan. Justice Undersecretary Francisco Baraan III, who was initially appointed head of the prosecution panel, was also accused of accepting bribes from the Ampatuans, along with other public prosecutors.

“The prosecution’s efforts aren’t concerted, which makes it easier for the suspects to manipulate the case, especially since they have money,” said Egco. “The reason we are [commemorating the massacre] is to let people know that we are guarding these two key factors—the safety of witnesses and the efficiency of the prosecution.”

Justice Secretary Leila de Lima has recently taken over the prosecution panel to personally supervise the progress of the case and to help resolve the rift between public and private prosecutors.

“I’ll give her the benefit of the doubt,” said Benny Antiporda, CAJ president. “But it’s been five years. Should I give her another five years? I don’t think so.”

“They say that justice delayed is justice denied, but in this case, justice isn’t just being delayed—the suspects are trying to kill each and every one of our witnesses, as if waiting for the time that all witnesses will be eliminated so that they can be absolved of their crime,” added Antiporda, who claimed he had insider information from the Bureau of Jail Management and Protection that the Ampatuans are given VIP treatment inside their cells.

He said that according to that insider, the Ampatuans are allowed access to mobile phones and the Internet, which is most likely how they are allegedly able to arrange for the assassination of witnesses. The CAJ has requested the DOJ to look into the veracity of this information.

The commemorative gathering started with a torch parade at 5 p.m. that went around the Supreme Court, Department of Justice and Intramuros, and ended at the NPC Building. Musical artists such as Bayang Barrios, Talahib, Musicians for Peace, Gazera, Tabakk and 5-Year Plan held a special concert at the NPC Building grounds where 58 candles were lit for the 58 victims. Photos and videos of the massacre site were also shown as a reminder of the mass murder.

Poets from KM 64 Poetry Collective read some of their tribute works to the victims of the mass killing.

“We members of the media cannot take the law into our own hands. This is the best we can do: to show the government that we are watching. If something suspicious happens, we will be here to call them out.”

The NPC has recently been included as a member of Task Force Administrative Order 35, a committee that looks into extrajudicial killings and violations of human rights, headed by the secretary of Justice.