Mass, candles for victims of Maguindanao massacre

ILOILO CITY—A Mass and candle lighting would highlight activities in this Iloilo provincial capital for the commemoration of the 2009 massacre in Maguindanao province that killed 58 people, 32 of them media workers.

Media groups, campus journalists, journalism students and teachers would lead the activities in the campuses of the University of the Philippines Visayas (UPV) and the University of San Agustin (USA), airing calls to fast-track the trial of 197 accused in the killings.

“After seven years, the families of the victims are still crying for justice. None of the accused has been convicted. We should not allow this to be forgotten,” said Glenda Sologastoa, chair of the Iloilo chapter of the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP).

The accused include members of the Ampatuan clan, who allegedly ordered and led the killing of members of the Mangudadatu family who were filing the certificate of candidacy of now Maguindanao Gov. Esmael Mangudadatu on Nov. 23, 2009.

Gunmen stopped the victim’s vehicles at a checkpoint, took them to a hilly area in Sitio Masalay, Barangay Salman in Ampatuan town, where they were gunned down.

The gunmen buried the victims and their vehicles in pits dug up by a backhoe but several bodies were left lying nearby.

Eighty-one suspects in the massacre, considered the worst single attack against media workers, remain at large.

Students and teachers of the Communication and Media Studies program of UPV are holding today a forum and film showing on the massacre in Miag-ao town in Iloilo.

Commemorative activities would be held tomorrow in three school campuses.

A forum and Mass would be held at USA. This would be followed by a candle-lighting activity at Plaza de San Agustin in this city.

UPV students in campuses here and in Miag-ao would also light candles in front of the UP Oblation.

Members of the Iloilo Press Club, Iloilo Provincial Capitol Press Corps and Iloilo City Hall Press Corps would join the activities.