This article first appeared on Mindanao Press.
Nine years after the brutal Maguindanao Massacre took place, media groups and families of victims still hear echoes of “calls and demands for the Philippine government to address the ongoing case with adequate reparation and absolute justice.”
In a tribute held at the Press Freedom Monument in Cagayan de Oro City on Friday (November 23), local media personnel expressed grief over the deaths of their fellow journalists, which amounted to more than 30 among the 58 that had been massacred in 2009.
Cry for justice
“The media community of Cagayan de Oro renew the call for the government of the Republic of the Philippines to adequate and satisfactory reparation, justice, and protection to the relatives and witnesses in Maguindanao and all media killings,” CDO Press Club President Ruffy Magbanua read from the organization’s official statement.
This resonated with the Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines’ official statement as read by Rappler correspondent Bobby Lagsa.
“An attack against journalists is an attack against democracy,” Lagsa said. “Journalism is not a crime.”
Although the case is still ongoing, with multiple evidence already cited, the principal suspect for the massacre may be convicted in early 2019.
“In the first quarter of next year, there must be a verdict for this particular case,” said Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas – Cagayan de Oro Chapter chairman Tito Monterde.
“This particular decision will undoubtedly go down in Philippine history as one of the most significant legal decisions from our trial courts,” he added.
Always in memory
Cathy Nuñez, the mother of Victor Nuñez, a journalist for the UNTV who was one of the victims, demanded justice for her son and those other victims whose rights were brutally violated in the massacre.
Speaking in front of local media, Nuñez expressed solidarity with journalists who are also fighting for justice for the victims.
“Hangtod karon, wala gihapon mi nakadawat og hustisya (Until now, we haven’t received justice),” she exclaimed.
She addressed the media present during the tribute: “Nagpasalamat ko kaninyo kay naa ra gihapon ta. Unta ang hukom nga ga hawid ani nga kaso makonsenya pud. (I thank all of you because we are still here. I hope that the judge handling the case will listen to conscience.)
She admitted that she still keeps a memory of her son until now, whom she claimed to have been “lovable and respectful” as the breadwinner of the family.
The tribute encouraged attendees, composed mostly of local journalists, to light candles in honor of the victims.
Also known as the Ampatuan Massacre, the mass murder is considered as one of the deadliest attacks on journalists in history according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.
The victims had been abducted while on the way to witness the filing of the certificate of candidacy for Esmael Mangudadatu, then vice mayor of Buluan town, who challenged former Datu Unsay Mayor Andal Ampatuan, Jr. for the gubernatorial seat in the Maguindanao province.
A mass grave on a solitary hill showed evidence of the massacre not long after. Journalists involved were making coverage of the candidacy before they were attacked.
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