Massacre spawns bill expediting probes

MANILA,Philippines — With justice still elusive for his wife and dozens of other victims of the Ampatuan massacre, Maguindanao Rep. Esmael “Toto” Mangudadatu has filed a measure seeking to expedite investigation of cases of killing specifically through the establishment of scene of the crime operatives (SOCO) unit in each of the 1,489 municipalities across the country.

“I do this because when I experienced the Maguindanao massacre, it took us three days before we were able to secure SOCO personnel to properly investigate the crime... We even had to request a SOCO team from the PNP Region 12 because neither the provincial office or the ARMM regional office could send one,” he recalled.

Exactly 10 years ago yesterday, Mangudadatu’s wife Genalyn and 57 others – including 32 media practitioners – were on a convoy on their way to a Commission on Elections office to file his certificate of candidacy for governor when they were stopped by armed men and forced to get off their vehicles. They were gunned down and buried on the spot, along with their vehicles. The then powerful Ampatuan clan allegedly perpetrated the murders.

Cases of murder against prominent members of the Ampatuan clan and their henchmen are still pending before a Quezon City court.

“And so as not to repeat some glaring lapses that I had observed in the past, I humbly ask for this Chamber to initiate a legislative intervention in the operations of the Philippine National Police (PNP),” the lawmaker stressed.

Mangudadatu’s bill specifically seeks to amend Republic Act No. 6975 (Philippine National Police Law) by mandating a SOCO unit per town “to conduct immediate crime scene processing such as collecting, handling and preserving of evidences of crimes happening in their jurisdiction.”

The former governor also argued that immediate investigation on deaths of Muslims in Mindanao is necessary as tradition requires burial of their dead within 24 hours from the time of death.

“Hence, for those victims of violent crimes who are Muslims, there is an urgent need for him/her to be autopsied within the 24-hour limit and this cannot be done without a SOCO team nearby,” he said.

“The fast and competent investigation of crimes and the facilitation of the consequent prosecution of such crimes in court will discourage individuals from seeking extrajudicial remedies such as rido and the like, since families of the victims are now more confident that they can secure justice in our justice system,” he pointed out.

The lawmaker said his proposed measure would “preserve the crime scene and maintain the genuineness and credibility of the pieces of evidence left and found in the scene of the crime for its admissibility in court.”

Mangudadatu again expressed optimism that the trial against principal accused Andal “Datu Unsay” Ampatuan Jr. and others will come to a fair and just end despite a long wait.

“We were able to wait and endured for 10 years so we accept another month of waiting, with the prayer that the court will rule in our favor based on credible evidence. We will endure one more month if it means that we will finally give justice to our loved ones,” he stressed in Filipino.

Optimistic

Even as various groups slammed the slow pace of trial in this case, Mangudadatu thanked the Department of Justice and Judge Jocelyn Solis-Reyes of Quezon City RTC Branch 221 “for trying, attending to and giving priority to all of the cases we have filed in relation to the 2009 Maguindanao massacre.”

The lawmaker said he is still confident of achieving  “real justice,” with the accused receiving the maximum penalty.

“We rely on the impartiality of the judge in trying the case. We are praying and appealing for a verdict that is acceptable to us, to the media community and to everybody else who is longing for the end of impunity in our land,” he added.    

Mangudadatu led yesterday families of the massacre victims in commemorating the tragedy in Barangay Masalay in Ampatuan town.

Also at the event were prosecution lawyer Nena Santos, Major Gen. Diosdado Carreon of the Army’s 6th Infantry Division and Joel Egco, executive director of the Presidential Task Force on Media Security (PTFoMS).

Egco said the PTFoMS is optimistic about the conviction next month of the suspects in the massacre.

Mangudadatu said a final verdict on the case will put closure to the sensational politically-motivated murders. The massacre was also considered the world’s worst case of media killings in a country not in war or under civil strife.

“If you have waited for ten long years, you just need to be more patient. Surely there will be verdict next month,” Egco said in remarks before the families of the massacre victims.

In his statement on the 10th anniversary of the massacre, Sen. Francis Pangilinan the “sense and reality of impunity of a political dynasty” made the Maguindanao massacre possible.

He said a warlord clan in Mindanao wanted to seal its power and control over the people in its territory in the 2010 elections 10 years ago.

“Together with his band of ruffians, a particularly desperate member tried to block any challenge to his clan’s power and control, and so abducted, shot at close range and buried media practitioners and some civilians who mistakenly followed the convoy for the filing of candidacy of a challenger,” Pangilinan said.

“The Maguindanao massacre that claimed the lives of 58 souls, including 32 journalists and media workers, exposes how deeply entrenched feudal politics is in the Philippines,” he added.

He lamented it has been 10 years since the massacre but none of the perpetrators have been convicted, while some of the witnesses have either been killed or made to disappear.

The crime, brazenly committed in broad daylight, “is another example of how painfully slow the Philippine wheels of justice turn,” Pangilinan said.

“We decry the decade of impunity that has emboldened criminals, including state agents, to snuff life out of innocent citizens on whim. The thousands of suspected drug users and pushers murdered in various police operations are a testament to the chronic impunity in the country. The chilling effect hounds us all,” he said.

He urged the courts to speed up the cases as justice for the victims and their families through rightful conviction will bring “a flicker of hope to the other victims of killings, including those in the so-called drug war.” 

In 2010, Pangilinan filed Senate Resolution 168 pushing for live coverage of the Maguindanao massacre trial, believing that transparency will fast track the judicial process. In 2011, he filed Senate Resolution 642 seeking to declare Nov. 23 of every year to be a national day to end impunity.

Calls for justice

Human Rights Watch (HRW) and local militant group Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) yesterday joined the call for justice for the 58 victims of the massacre.

“A decade later, justice remains elusive as many suspects have not been brought to trial or remain at large... Next month, a court in Manila is expected to announce its verdict in the case. But the slow process to reach this point highlights the many problems in the Philippine justice system,” HRW Asia division researcher Carlos Conde said in a press statement.

“Victims’ families remain indignant about the glacial proceedings but hopeful the judge will render justice in the case,” he said.

Former Maguindanao governor Sajid Ampatuan and his brothers Andal Jr., Zaldy and Anwar were the primary suspects in the massacre.

Sajid was granted bail by the Quezon City RTC in March 2015 due to supposed insufficiency of evidence of the prosecution.

Andal Jr., Zaldy and Anwar are detained at Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig while 80 suspects, 15 of whom are surnamed Ampatuan, remain at large.

Conde said while there were efforts to reform the country’s political and justice system, the Duterte administration has not done enough and was even the proponent of “crony politics” and “authoritarianism.”

“Political dynasties still rule, particularly in rural areas like Maguindanao. The police remain corrupt and inefficient, and President Duterte’s administration has done nothing to change that,” Conde said.

“Duterte’s long run as mayor of Mindanao’s Davao City was fueled by family and crony politics that enabled him to defeat political enemies and rule above the law. The Ampatuan’s bloody rule in Maguindanao benefitted from the same political culture that Duterte relied on,” he added.

Conde said the conviction of those responsible for the Maguindanao Massacre is crucial in restoring the public’s faith in the government and its judicial system.

“His [Duterte] failed approach has been a murderous ‘war on drugs,’ increased attacks on political and social activists and a blind eye turned to corruption, all solidified by his government’s increasing authoritarianism,” Conde said.

“Convicting those responsible for the Maguindanao massacre would serve as a wake-up call that justice is possible in the Philippines, and a human rights-abusing status quo is unacceptable,” he added.

Bayan shared the same view. In a press statement issued yesterday, secretary-general Renato Reyes said the Maguindanao massacre “is a grim reminder of the bankrupt political system” in the country.

“So long as politicians think they can wield absolute power, with no checks and balance, then the abuse that gave rise to the massacre may happen again,” Reyes said.

“As we demand justice for all the victims, we also must fight to eliminate the conditions that give rise to impunity – the corrupt dynasties, private armies, poverty, a broken judicial system and state-sponsored repression,” he added.

“We must resist those who wish to wield unchecked power over the people. We say, no more! Never again! Justice now! End impunity!”  –  Paolo Romero and John Unson