On the Culture of Impunity: Remembering the heinous Maguindanao Massacre
Written by Camille Luiza Fernando and Daron Mavius Lavado — November 24,2020
On November 23, 2009, horrendous headlines about the brutal mass killing in the southern province of Maguindanao provoked clatter to the entire country, and the world. In pursuit of continuing an existing political dynasty, 58 people including 32 journalists and media workers were gruesomely killed in what would later be called as the trial of the decade. Eleven years since the fateful event, crimes against members of the press remain to be rampant, and oftentimes unsolved. The Maguindanao Massacre is a story that should not be forgotten, it is a reminder for us to seek justice for the numerous crimes that have been and continuously committed against our rearguards of truth.
How it all started?
On the morning of November 23, 2009, the pregnant wife, along with journalists, media workers, and other female relatives of then Buluan Vice Mayor Esmael “Toto” Mangundadatu who was running against Datu Andal “Unsay” Ampatuan, Jr., were on their way to Commission on Election (Comelec) to file the certificate of his candidacy for provincial governor when a group of armed men including Unsay ambushed them at a checkpoint in the town of Ampatuan. Prosecution witnesses say several women were sexually harassed before their lives were ended while their corpses were buried in graves on a hilltop.
The Ampatuan is a powerful and prominent clan in Maguindanao. With a private army, allegedly composed of up to 5,000 militiamen, police, and military personnel, the family and their relatives have ruled 10 municipalities of the province. In pursuit of continuing the existing political dynasty, the Ampatuans led to killing lives including media workers to stop them from covering and exposing news that may end the clan’s two decades of ruling the province.
According to an investigation by international advocacy group Human Rights Watch, the family along with its private army have been linked to killings, torture, sexual assault, abductions, and other cases of human rights abuses. By capitalizing on their political influence and the power of intimidation, the political clan would always hit upon running away from any of their mess.
10 years in court filled with so much impediments, the so-called trial of the decade has come to an end on December of 2019 yet only 28 people were convicted for 57 counts of murder while 55 people, including Maguindanao town mayor Datu Sajid Islam Ampatuan were acquitted.
The struggle for justice in the country
Justice remained at its slow pace as the case of the worst political violence in the country took a long and painful decade before arriving to a verdict, this, despite the overwhelming pieces of evidence against the defendants. Apart from the victims’ families decade of crying and mourning, there have been countless denied allegations too, some of the witnesses in the case were killed, while numerous suspects were released on bail. This “culture of impunity” has been even more emphasized when some members of the family are still winning seats, notwithstanding the fact that they are suspects in multiple counts of murder.
In the present regime, impunity is still visible as seen when Major General Debold Sinas — a violator of quarantine protocols through the infamous mañanita, would later be chosen as Philippine National Police (PNP) chief. Should that be a lame ground, Sinas is also being tagged in several killings and violence in the Central Visayas that no one was held accountable for.
But if one would think about it, Sinas’ promotion should not be a surprise as the other officials facing huge allegations of corruption are also being acquitted and promoted.
On the other hand, being a journalist remains a dangerous profession. According to a report from UNESCO for the years 2018–2019, many journalists that are covering corruption, human rights violations, environmental crimes, trafficking, and political wrongdoing are being killed outside of armed conflict killings, and threatened with violence and harassment.
“Justice delayed is justice denied.”
A lot of cases that are being filed not just the Maguindanao Massacre suffer from derangement posed by lame reasons such as judiciary having too much on its palette, but what comes with that obvious fact is, few courts and judges have the determination to finish trial cases leaving it just hanging as well as relegated. The Philippine justice system has long been embattled due to the undeniable influence of corruption with its pattern seemingly favoring the rich and the powerful while the unprivileged are most likely to be unwanted, unheard, and may face huge setbacks to achieve rights and equity.
The Oppressed Press
Eleven years since the gruesome Maguindanao massacre, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) reports the Philippines as 7th country with the most unsolved murders of journalists according to the Committee to Protect Journalists’ (CPJ) Global Impunity Index. Many are being killed to suppress critical reporting, a clear attempt of crippling our democracy.
There have been myriad of accounts involving media-repression, not only in the present time but also dating from the past regimes such as in Martial Law during the Marcos Era. The late president sure knew what the media could do against him, hence, he schemed a move to silence them. On September 22, 1972, the former president issued Letter of Instruction №1, which allowed the military to take over the major media outlets all over the country. Many journalists were arbitrarily arrested like what happened to Teodoro Locsin Sr. of Philippines Free Press, Chino Roces of Manila Times, and Eugenio Lopez Jr. of ABS-CBN.
Numerous presidents have taken their seats in the Malacañan Palace, yet measures to prevent attacks against journalists remain to be lousy therefore sustaining the dangerous environment of journalism in the country. In fact, the former regime has threatened the freedom of the press, notwithstanding Article III, Section 4 of the Bill of Rights in the 1987 Constitution which states that, no law shall be passed abridging the freedom of speech, of expression, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble and petition the government for a redress of grievances. Moreover, the newly passed law, Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020 or RA 11479 came to oppose it resulting into massive dissenting opinions coming from different people including journalists in which those who violated may be detained for weeks and labeled as ‘terrorists’. This is believed to be a clear statement against the media and anyone who is against the government. Subsequently, the latter came to the ABS-CBN shutdown that left the majority of the Filipinos jobless and clueless in times of emergencies such as the recent typhoon Ulysses which brought huge destruction in different regions of the country.
On one hand, a huge online news site, Rappler was also ordered to shut down back in 2018. Maria Ressa, Rappler’s CEO, and Reynaldo Santos Jr., researcher-writer, faced a cyber libel case filed by a businessman named Wilfredo Keng. Keng claimed Rappler’s 2012 article about the former Chief Justice Renato Corona to be defamatory. Santos was believed to write false accusations on Keng, publicizing the complainant’s involvement in illegal drug businesses (Buan, 2020). Similar cases were also filed against Rappler and Ressa garnering 11 lawsuits in less than a year. They were ordered to shut down for including foreign investors in their company violating the constitutional prohibition on foreign ownership (CBS News, 2018).
Journalists play a vital role in the country; relaying crucial and relevant information that people need. If we “oppress” the “press” because of speaking up, the pieces of the Maguindanao Massacre will live up every day.
Democracy not idiocracy
A fair and unbiased media is essential to a country’s democracy. Without such, governing can go one-way without the principles of checks and balances.
Journalists are often tagged as the government’s opposition, hence, almost everyone considering them as activists. They play a vital role in delivering information and giving opinions about national issues. Without press freedom, a democratic country will not be democratic at all. Just take a look at the North Korean government. It is very ironic to be called “the democratic people’s republic of Korea” yet be tight to their press and to their people in general.
Newscasting is and has always been difficult inside North Korea. Their main television channel is run by the government only flashing news and programs praising their leaders. The Internet is also inaccessible inside North Korea promoting less to no outside communication at all (BBC News, 2011). The Kim dynasty should not have taken their seat if only the media functions well; fulfilling their actual jobs instead of focusing on brainwashing the people.
Philippines’ press is one of the best in the whole globe. Its education system even includes campus journalism to create future media workers ready to face pressure and criticisms. We are still far from North Korea’s oppressed press but if the attacks on the media continue, we can probably be near them.
The freedom of the press as the right to express and expose news, opinions, political stances, and different angles of truth must be amplified and never be silenced nor threatened. It plays a huge role in society as the speaker of facts and a reason to many people to digest information useful to become knowledgeable about the happenings across the globe. Today, we commemorate the Maguindanao Massacre which occurred 11 years ago that killed 32 journalists and media workers. Solely the conviction is the utmost solution, thus, as the justice remains blindfolded, the press freedom will crawl on the shallow grave.
References
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Writer
Camille Luiza F. Fernando @clfernando.underscore
Daron Marius Lavado @daronunderscore
Editor
Coleene Vilanueva
Neil John R. Merdegia
