DAVAO CITY, Philippines – Last November 17, 2024, families of the Ampatuan Massacre victims joined by journalists went on their annual visit to the shrine in Barangay Salman, Ampatuan in Maguindanao ahead of the 15th anniversary, but were taken aback at how the site was left neglected.
The group, around 100, traveled from General Santos City to the site early dawn, and found mounds of garbage welcoming them a few meters going into the shrine. Villagers in the area told the group that the local government has started to designate the place as the municipality’s dumpsite.
Not far from the dumpsite, the road that leads toward the massacre site was already damaged, which locals attributed to soil erosion brought by heavy rains in the past months and days.
This prompted the group to step down from their vehicles and proceed by foot as they saw the vehicles could not pass safely through the damaged roads and eroded soil that ran meters deep.
Eighty-year old Maura Montaño, joined the walk as she endured the heat just to offer prayers and candle for her daughter Marife, who was among the 34 journalists murdered on November 23, 2009.
“Grabe naman ni sila, wala gyud silay kaluoy, (They were cruel and heartless)” uttered Montaňo about the memory of her daughter and her colleagues’ murders.
Minutes later, a military truck that was part of the convoy offered Montaño and other members of the group a ride as they could not endure the long walk to the shrine.
But there was more heartbreak for the families as they arrived at the shrine, where markers engraved with their relatives’ names were left crumbling and lying on the ground across untrimmed grass.
Families looked at the markers and cried in disbelief.
“Obviously, gipabayaan talaga. Dati may designate caretaker dito para mag-ensure na maayos at ma-maintain ang area para na rin sa mga pamilya na gustong bumisita. Pero ngayon every year nakikita natin palala ng palala ang sitwasyon, (This place has been neglected. There used to be caretakers tasked to make sure the place is maintained for the families who would visit this place. But this year, we are seeing this is getting worse)” said Emily Lopez, the spokesperson of the group of families called Justice Now, who lost her relative journalist Arturo Betia.
Partial justice
2024 marks the 15th year of the worst massacre of journalists in history, where 34 media workers who joined a convoy for then gubernatorial candidate Esmael Mangudadatu were stopped by a private army of the ruling Ampatuan clan and were executed.
The trial dragged on for nine years until 2019 when the court handed a guilty verdict and imprisonment to 44 persons including leading members of the Ampatuan clan, members of its private army and police officers.
But the families found only “partial justice”, according to Lopez.
The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP), which has supported the case and the welfare of the families, noted that some of the 44 convicted suspects have appealed their cases in the higher courts, while 88 suspects remain at large.
“Until final conviction, the families of those whose loved ones were taken on November 23, 2009 will be waiting not just for justice but also for long-needed compensation for the loss of their kin,” the NUJP said in a statement released during the 2024 anniversary. The court ordered compensation for the victims’ families amounting to 155 million pesos.
Lopez added that families feel that the support for them has dwindled in the past years, particularly from local officials.
This year, Mangudadatu, who lost his wife and other family members in the massacre, skipped the visit to the shrine for the first time.
The fight continues
The families call on the public to support their call for justice.
“It’s not over yet. There are still many components of this justice that haven’t been handed down to us. While this is not happening, we have no other option but to continue fighting because lives were lost for the interest of the few,” Lopez said.
NUJP is supporting the families’ call for a public apology from the Ampatuans over their crimes.
It is also campaigning for the recognition of journalist Reynaldo Momay as the 58th victim of the massacre, as the court did not include him on the list as his body was never found.
NUJP said while the massacre happened 15 years ago, journalists and the public still face the fight for memory.
“We face another fight: One for memory. Of the tragic attack, of the people who lost their lives, and of the dangerous conditions that journalists operate under in the Philippines. Fifteen years since the massacre, “warlords” still exist in some provinces and have virtually free rein in their areas as long as they ensure supposed peace and order and development for the national government,” the group said.
The Union of Peoples’ Lawyers in Mindanao (UPLM), who lost its officer in the massacre, Attorney Concepcion Brizuela, who was Mangudadatu’s lawyer, urged the Marcos Jr. administration to pursue the arrest and prosecution of the 88 suspects still in hiding. They also urged Congress to enact stronger laws to end impunity and human rights abuses. (davaotoday.com)
Ampatuan massacre, maguindanao, Press freedom
