Fighting Impunity in the Philippines

FIGHTING IMPUNITY IN THE PHILIPPINES

by Iris Gonzales

One death is too many. As I write this, human rights organizations and loved ones of victims of enforced disappearances and extra judicial killings continue to cry out for justice. 

The numbers are stark and telling: 150 journalists killed since 1986; at least 206 cases of enforced disappearances; and 1,206 cases of extra judicial killings since 2001, according to data from the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines and Karapatan. 

Fighting impunity is an uphill battle but the people are not giving up. Everyday, in the courtroom, in unknown places, through images and various campaigns, the struggle continues. 

The Internet, for instance, is also used as a tool to raise awareness on the situation in the country and to bring the perpetrators to justice. 

But this is not enough. The Aquino administration must make true its promise to address the problem of impunity in the country.

Until then, the number of deaths will continue to grow. And one death is too many.

(This multimedia project is part of Google's Collaboratory Project on Human Rights and the Internet launched in Berlin, Germany in March 2012. Thank you to Jes Aznar, Edith Burgos, Kiri Dalena, Angelica Carballo, JB Deveza of the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines, Angge Santos of Karapatan, Linda Cadapan,  Connie Empeno, Krissy Konti and Rorie Fajardo for the invaluable assistance). 

After the Slaughter

My latest blog on The New Internationalist:

Two years ago today, under a glistening sun on a far-flung barren hill, 58 people, including 32 journalists, were massacred to death in the Philippines. The massacre is considered the worst election-related violence in recent years.

Two years on, the grief and the pain remain immeasurable. The families of the victims of decades-old clan war continue to cry out for justice. The carnage, which came to be known as the ‘Maguindanao massacre’, happened on November 23, 2009, somewhere between Ampatuan town in Maguindanao in the southern Philippines and the heart of darkness.

According to Task Force Maguindanao, the group handling the investigation, a total of 100 people are accused: nine policemen, four military personnel, 18 members of the Ampatuan clan, and 69 members of the private army of the Ampatuans, a ruling clan in the province.

It happened on a Monday, as the group was on its way to Shariff Aguak to witness the filing of election candidacy of Toto Mangudadatu, a member of a rival clan of the Ampatuans in the province. His wife Genalyn would be filing his candidacy for him, along with a convoy of supporters and members of the working press.

But on their way to the provincial capital, around 100 armed men intercepted the convoy and led them up a dirt road, some four kilometres from the highway they were on.

They were brought to an empty lot, from where they could only dream of their loved ones in the distant valley below as they stood helplessly to meet their deaths.

Two years have passed but justice for the victims of the massacre that happened in broad daylight remains elusive.

So that people will not forget, media organizations here have lined up various activities for the commemoration. There is a photo exhibit on Mindanao by Filipino photojournalist Jes Aznar.  Under the Lord’s Shadow takes a deeper look into the conflict in Mindanao, the very same conflict that led to the massacre.

There is also a ‘Countdown to End Impunity’ as Filipino journalists join the International Day to End Impunity initiated by the International Freedom of Expression Exchange.

Today, media organizations, journalists and other groups will march to the presidential palace to remind the government that justice has not been served and that the massacre has not been and will never be forgotten.

TWO YEARS AND STILL NO JUSTICE: A call to bloggers, Twitter users and social media activists

Below is a statement from the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines. I urge my fellow bloggers to heed the call:

On November 21, the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines, in cooperation with other media groups, is launching a Blog Action Day in connection with our commemoration of the second anniversary of the November 23, 2009 Ampatuan massacre and the first International Day to End Impunity.

As of today, only two Ampatuans have been arraigned. Only 93 of the 196 accused have been arrested. Prosecution and defense lawyers have listed 300 and 320 witnesses, respectively, which, according to Senator Joker Arroyo, a veteran human rights lawyer and courtroom litigator, may take 200 years to present.

Meanwhile, the families of the 58 victims continue to suffer from the loss of their loved ones, most of whom were family breadwinners. Some of the children continue to innocently wait in vain for their murdered parents to come home.

On this day, we would like to invite all of you to use the power of communication and the Internet to speak out for justice and against the continued impunity with which those who wish to suppress freedom of expression impose the ultimate censorship – death – and how the apathy and inaction of government has made this so.

Let this be the start of a meaningful partnership as we forge onward together to realize the full expression of our rights and freedoms as communicators and as citizens of our country.

Below are some links that provide background information on the Ampatuan massacre and current status of the 57 counts of murder filed against the 196 accused:

“End Impunity: NUJP’s countdown to the Ampatuan Massacre’s second Anniversary” on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/pages/End-Impunity-NUJPs-Countdown-to-Ampatuan-Massacres-Second-Anniversary/199834376758733)

NUJP (@nujp) on Twitter (http://twitter.com/nujp)

NUJP on Tumblr  which features artworks of children of the victims of the massacre and other media killings. These artworks express how they are coping with the death of their slain parents (http://nujp.tumblr.com/).

Let’s do our share in not forgetting the fallen victims of the Ampatuan Massacre.

References:

Rowena C. Paraan

Secretary General

0910.495.0095

Nestor Burgos

Chairperson

0917.725.6333