Too Long

AS someone who has undergone severe pain of loss, one can say, “it never goes away.”

Yes, it never does.

That is why every time I would go down the memory lane of when, where and how I lost my father, the pain slowly begins to get the best of me and a shadow starts to crawl over my being.

Nov. 23, 2009, then, Nov. 23, 2019, now. It still feels the same.

Empty. Unrewarded. Exhausted. Disappointed.

Through the years, I never let go of the fight to seek justice. I never once thought that I am on the losing end. I still have the light of hope that the lives lost were for a cause.

My father’s life was not just a speck. He was all the father that I had. The same is quite true to the families left without a mother, a father, a friend, and a colleague.

A decade had passed but the outcry is still the same. That is, to end impunity.

Those who have done the inhumane, barbarous and vicious act of disregarding life should never be exempted from punishment, because what they did deserve consequences.

A day, a month or a year of delay in the resolution of the Maguindanao Massacre case will not only deny us justice but will deprive every victim and their family of a chance at redemption.

Ten years of waiting is too long.

End impunity now! -Ma. Reynafe Momay-Castillo (a daughter or Reynaldo Momay, photographer of Midland Courier in Tacurong City who was among those killed on Nov. 23, 2009, in Ampatuan, Maguindanao. Reynafe, a registered nurse, is now based in the United States.)

Culture of Impunity

IMPUNITY is the cycle of criminality that fails to punish.

In the Philippines, impunity is an epidemic. The rich and the powerful get away with their heists in broad daylight. The Philippines’ major departments, the ones that should know better, are often the very enablers of impunity.

Ten years ago, the gruesome Ampatuan Massacre happened. The Ampatuan Massacre took place in Maguindanao on Nov. 23, 2009. The massacre was named after the provincial municipality in which it took place, as well as the war-lord family that orders and carries out in the killings.

Months before the 10th year anniversary, the Department of Justice said that the verdict will be given before Christmas.

But justice delayed is justice denied.

A decade has passed, yet justice remains elusive for the victims of the single deadliest attack against journalists. The families of those slain in the massacre still await justice—many suspects are still at large and those detained have manipulated the justice system to repeatedly delay the judicial process.

Justice should have been finally served only if the past administrations of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and Ninoy Aquino have used its resources and influence to finally convict the Ampatuans.

Aside from the Ampatuans to blame, another did surface. His name is Rodrigo Duterte, the Philippine president who blatantly threatened and ordered to kill journalists. Just like his two successors, Duterte, in his first three years, failed to bring justice. Because of this, 14 more journalists have been murdered under his watch.

This is what happens when murderers remain unpunished. They kill again. Failure to address impunity continues to harm the Philippine press given the Duterte administration’s bloody and brutal drug war resulting in state-sponsored extrajudicial killings that have claimed thousands of lives.

Duterte’s whole-of-nation approach under Executive Order No. 70 has resulted in countless violations against watchdogs of society critical of corruption and human rights abuses in the communities, for instance, are being tagged as part of New People’s Army.

Watchdogs of society who adhered to the ethical values of truth-telling, justice, and fearless reportage are often killed and intimidated by state forces.

The creation of the Presidential Task Force on Media Security did not even bother to protect the members of the fourth estate given the intimidation and harassment some of the reporters experienced. Such a shame for Lorraine Badoy and Teddy Locsin Jr.’s recent statements, parroting Duterte’s barbaric way of communication.

Despite the brutal massacre in Maguindanao in 2009, press freedom continues to be under siege. A decade is too long. Now more than ever, the members of the free press demand justice for the 32 colleagues killed by the Ampatuans.

Convict the Ampatuans! Justice for 58! - College Editors Guild of the Philippines

Attacks continue

WE express solidarity with the families of the 58 defenseless victims of the infamous Ampatuan Massacre in commemorating its 10th year and in urging the government to convict the butcher’s merciless masterminds.

Ten years ago today, 58 individuals, including 32 journalists who were supposed to be at the filing of the certificate of candidacy of then gubernatorial bet Esmael “Toto” Mangudadatu, were killed in a bloody massacre in Maguindanao, but up to this day, justice has yet to be served.

Often referred to as the single most deadly assault on journalists in the world, the infamous massacre is believed to have been perpetrated by the Ampatuans, a powerful clan closely allied to then-President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. The Ampatuan family was the one in power when Mangudadatu decided to seek the governorship in the province.

Years have already passed and the children of the victims are now grown-ups. What took the government so long to convict the perpetrators of the deadly attack on defenseless civilians? Truly, we have nothing, but words to condemn this injustice not only to the victims’ families but to all those victimized by regimes who are afraid of dissent and of losing helms.

Trials on the gruesome massacre have already witnessed the terms of various administrations, but justice remained elusive. It is outrageous to know how regimes have set aside the cry for justice of the victims’ families, but what is more enraging is the fact that governments took part in furthering the repression of people’s rights.

In 2012, former President Benigno Aquino III signed the Cybercrime Prevention Act, a law that would later be weaponized by the Duterte regime to harass and threaten anyone critical of the powers-that-be, charging fearless journalists of trumped-up suits.

Sadly, media repression has intensified under the Duterte government. He waged a war against the journalists from media outfits and alternative publications who have been fact-based and courageous in the reportage of the series of his wars against the poor.

Aside from using existing laws to persecute the media, it has even weaponized social media to harass known critics. The government created a pool of paid trolls responsible for the proliferation of misinformation which supports the lies peddled by his armed cohorts in the military and the police.

The climate of impunity has worsened through Duterte’s all-out war on critics, including journalists.

 We should hold governments accountable for attacks against the people and on the fearless press. We would like to remind Duterte that the vanguards of truth will always spark the downfall of any tyrant regime. -Reylan Vergara, vice-chairperson, Karapatan