Coalition demands justice for Maguindanao massacre

PCICC

The Philippine Coalition for the International Criminal Court (PCICC) joins the country in demanding justice for the vicious and gruesome murder of innocent and unarmed women and men of Mindanao, many of them lawyers and media professionals engaged in monitoring the filing of a certificate of candidacy for the 2010 elections. On that fateful day of November 23, fifty-seven Filipinos, 30 of them journalists, were massacred as they complied with the procedural process of elections. This is the first time in global history that so many journalists were ever killed in one instance. This too is the first time in Philippine history that 57 Filipinos were killed in one instance in the conduct of electoral exercise.

The Maguindanao Massacre manifests the prevailing reign of impunity in the country. PCICC believes that justice cannot be served in a nation succumbing in the grasp of impunity. Part of ending the culture of impunity begins with the guarantee that the alleged perpetrators shall undergo fair, just and effective investigations and trials. Justice cannot be held hostaged by unholy political and personal alliances.

The failure in addressing the issue of impunity has been the rule rather than the exception in Philippine society. History can attest to social injustice prevailing across generations and resulting in the inability of the criminal justice system to provide protection to the marginal poor of society. In the recent past, the cases of hundreds of extralegal killings, enforced disappearances, torture committed against political activists, judges and journalists have attracted international attention. To date, these cases have yet to find full resolution. The government’s efforts in resolving cases of impunity involving state actors such as the alleged human rights violations against General Jovito Palparan and the Davao Death squad remains at a standstill.

The victims of the Maguindanao Massacre should not be forgotten in the same way. Their murder was systematic and attended by inhuman acts calculated to cause great suffering, an attack that may on further investigation fall into the category of a crime against humanity.

While the arrest of Mayor Ampatuan and the ordered suspension of all Maguindanao officials are a positive development on the case, the PCICC believes that President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo should further guarantee that there will be no cover-up and political favor extended to the Ampatuan family in the course of the investigations. Beyond meting justice to those culpable within the Ampatuan family, the government must fully enforce the dismantling of all private armies, the confiscation of arms, the suspension of both civil and uniformed officials in Maguindanao and the full and comprehensive investigation of those culpable.

Simultaneously, conscious effort should be made to pass into law legislation that protects the citizens against such heinous crimes. The International Humanitarian Law as pending legislation must be given priority and the Rome Statute must be transmitted by the Executive to the Senate for ratification.

Ultimately, the August 21 Launch of the Press Freedom Monument in Cagayan de Oro must be transformed in to a Press Freedom Movement that should cut across the islands and work in concert for the protection of the media workers in particular and of all citizens in general; striving for a peaceful and more humane society for the Philippines

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 Statement of Condemnation on Ampatuan Massacre

Centro Saka Inc.

Beyond the Ampatuan Massacre

We condemn in the strongest terms the Maguindanao massacre—the senseless slaughter and mutilation of unarmed women, journalists, lawyers and even unborn babies was so shocking that words fail to convey the outrage felt by those of us who were horrified by the tragedy.

We grieve with the families of the victims. What happened to their kith and kin was so barbaric that we can almost feel their pain and anguish. We are fervently praying that justice may prevail.

The massacre cannot be dismissed as a mere clan war or rido that went out of hand or even an election-related violence. The rido is governed by rules and forbids the harming or killing of women and children; it also does not involve parties other than members of the warring clans.

The testimonies and evidence gathered so far leave no doubt that the Ampatuans led the cold-blooded killing of 57 people last Nov. 23. Our partners in Mindanao said that the Ampatuans are much feared by the ordinary Moros and the Lumads in Maguindanao as they are widely perceived to be capable of getting away with murder. Way before the massacre, the Ampatuans were reportedly suspected to be involved in unsolved killings in the area. The Ampatuan clan and their cohorts are also allegedly occupying areas vacated by people who were forced to flee because of armed skirmishes in their area. If so, this practice has contributed in the swelling of the half a million internally displaced peoples, mostly poor farmers, who no longer have homes to go back to in Maguindanao. Unfortunately, the people are afraid to testify or file cases against the Ampatuan clan because they do not trust that government would be able to protect them from reprisal. The huge mansions
of the Ampatuans seem to be quite reflective of the power they yield over the predominantly poor people and their humble dwellings.

Surely, the blame for this massacre falls also on government for cultivating warlordism. President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo had eight years within which she could have dismantled warlordism in Mindanao and other places. But Arroyo strengthened the local warlords to deal with the illegitimacy of her rule. Instead of strengthening democratic institutions and pursuing anti-poverty measures, the Arroyo government established civilian volunteer organizations and other paramilitary groups in 2006 and even issued them firearms. This exacerbated the proliferation of heavily armed private armies of warlord politicians in Maguindanao and the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. It also left the province as the third most poorest in the country.

Government’s handling of the incident is being closely monitored. If government allows the perpetrators to escape harsh punishment, it will weaken the people’s already fragile trust in supposedly democratic institutions. Especially because the evidence shows that the assailants were part of the political machinery backed by the Arroyo administration.

If anything, the ghastly incident should spark thoroughgoing reforms in the region. More than merely disarming the private armies, the national government sorely needs to foster the genuine participation of marginalized sectors in governance. In addition, government needs to initiate programs and policies to empower the poor by instituting anti-poverty measures such as asset reform so that the poor would no longer be dependent on the handouts of politicians and local warlords. More importantly, government needs to restore and strengthen rural democratic institutions because these are the weakest link in governance in the region. These institutions include the unprotected people’s organizations. Of course, the private sector and civil society also have roles to play in the development of the region especially because multi-sectoral development initiatives that involve the beneficiaries have proven to be successful mechanisms. If the government pursues
genuine development and peace initiatives in the region, the ordinary Moro and Lumad people would finally be able to pursue economic and governance activities without fear for their lives.

Lastly, a lot of donor agencies are supporting projects in Maguindanao and other areas in Mindanao. Yet the improvements do not seem to reach the intended beneficiaries as can be gleaned from the still widespread poverty. Many of the projects go through the ARMM, which is headed by Maguindanao Governor Andal Ampatuan Sr. Perhaps it is high time that the donor agencies review the impact of the projects and the support that they have been pouring in Maguindanao and the ARMM region as they might be unwittingly helping perpetuate warlordism and poverty instead of the other way around. The United States has temporarily withdrawn its support for projects in Mindanao, a move that is perhaps a little too late but still the correct step to undertake given the circumstances. Surprisingly, other donors have yet to follow suit despite being aware of the human rights abuses and corruption in the area. If these donors continue pouring support, then they are also
guilty of propping up despotic rule in the area.

Centro Saka Inc.
Rm. 319 PSSC Bldg., Commonwealth Ave., Diliman, Quezon City
926-6607/9287464

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 Massacre victims’ kin gain sympathy

Friday, November 27, 2009

MANILA — The Philippine Human Rights Reporting Project extended its deepest sympathies to the relatives of those killed in Maguindanao on Monday..

“Much is said and claimed by those in power about an improving human rights record in the Philippines, however, such an atrocity and the climate of impunity that surrounds it is surely the most accurate measure of the reality behind all the official words,” said project coordinator Rorie Fajardo.

She said it has been said that President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has been searching around recently for the best legacy and mark of her nine years in power. “The Maguindanao massacre is most surely it,” she said.

Meanwhile, Akbayan Negros, Philippine Rural Reconstruction Movement (PRRM) Negros, and Change Politics Movement (CPM) Negros also condemned the massacre.

“We are aghast that such actions, committed in broad daylight with plenty of witnesses and under the very nose of the military, can happen,” said Akbayan Representative Walden Bello.

“We condole with the families of the victims and are one with them in seeking justice,” he added.

Also, local journalists in Negros Occidental are holding a rally on Monday to condemn the massacre. (GMD/Jerson Coronica)

* Sunstar Bacolod
http://www.sunstar.com.ph/bacolod/massacre-victims-kin-gain-sympathy

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 STATEMENT OF THE MINDANAO PEACE SOLIDARITY (MPS)

26 November 2009

MAGUINDANAO MASSACRE: LET JUSTICE BE SERVE, NEVER WAIVER FOR PEACE

We, members and partners of the Mindanao Peace Solidarity, join the Filipino nation and the rest of the
world in condemning the brutal killings in Maguindanao last 23 November 2009 that resulted in the death of
more than 60 people including journalists who were merely in the course of fulfilling their jobs as media
practitioners. Such killing happened as MPS celebrates the Mindanao Week of Peace starting the last week
of November until the first week of December with a peace exhibit, conversations on peace, and public
forums.

We condemn such inhuman and despicable act, perpetrated by madmen bereft of soul and conscience, which
by now has been described as the worst single case of election and politically motivated violence in recent
Philippine history. This is a major setback for peace in Mindanao and a portent of things to come in the
coming 2010 elections. This is a major setback for democracy especially at a time when many of our
citizens are preparing to realize political changes after a decade of rule by President Gloria Macapagal-
Arroyo. It has put in the spotlight the failure of governance and rule of law under the present administration
of GMA and further indicts this government as directly responsible for the massacre as well as unresolved
human rights issues like extra-judicial killings, assassinations, kidnappings, as well as the unjust war in
Mindanao waged against the Bangsamoro and lumads.

We as development workers involved in peace building, sustainable agriculture, social enterprise,
participatory governance, electoral/political reforms, among others, are gravely disturbed and apprehensive
that the government’s actions before and after the so-called Maguindanao massacre failed to prevent,
mitigate and even address the decades-old problem of election violence, warlordism, absence of the rule of
law, proliferation of weapons, historical injustice to the Moros and lumads, denial of the right to selfdetermination,
among others, have fueled unpeace in Mindanao.

We call upon the government to act decisively and do the following:

1) Prosecute publicly in a highly-publicized judicial process all the offenders including those
government officials, military and police who committed acts of commission and omission that
triggered such barbaric act;

2) Strictly follow and implement the rule of law in election hotspots like Maguindanao and other areas
in Mindanao by dismantling private armies of warlords;

3) Place Maguindanao under direct Commission on Election (Comelec) control for the coming 2010
elections;

4) Protect all innocent civilians from further harm that might erupt due to violent clan feuds to be
triggered by the Maguindanao massacre;

5) Call upon all political parties, partisan and non-partisan groups that will participate in the 2010
elections to be vigilant, to exercise restraint, fight for truth and justice, and abhor violence.

Mindanao is at a crossroad – to continue in its march to modernity or be stuck in the quagmire of conflict.

We believe that peace can be achieved if we all do our share to make the Mindanao question a national
priority. Only through a peaceful and comprehensive settlement of the Bangsamoro struggle can we say that
the road to peace has started in the right direction.

TOM S. VILLARIN
Convenor, Mindanao Peace Solidarity
Executive Director, Siad in Mindanao Convergence for
Asset Reform and Regional Development (SIMCARRD)

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