GENERAL SANTOS CITY, Philippines – Compact discs showing footage of the aftermath of the Maguindanao massacre are bestsellers in the public market here and in neighboring Saranggani province.
The footage runs for six to seven hours, beginning
with scenes of soldiers and other rescue teams finding the mutilated bodies at the crime scene.
The discs began turning up shortly after the Nov. 23 slaughter of 57 civilians, including local journalists.
“Many of the shots, especially the close-ups of the victims’ bullet-riddled bodies, are so graphic and terrifying they will haunt you,” said Norie Acebedo, a close friend of some of the 57 victims.
In Maranaw stores selling counterfeit discs, the first copies of the massacre discs sold for P30 per copy but rose to P50 and P70 because of huge demand.