TATLONG taon na ang Maguindanao massacre case pero hangga ngayon ay wala pa ring nahahatulan lalu na sa mga pangunahing suspects na sinasabing warlords sa Maguindanao.
Nakakalungkot. Sa takbo ng mga pangyayari, tila pumupuntos ang mga suspects sa labang ito. Malaking pabor sa kanila nang ayunan ng Korte Suprema ang petisyon nila na huwag pahintulutan ang live coverage ng paglilitis. Ayaw kong isipin na malaki ang nagagawa ng salapi para pati katarungan ay mabili at paikutin pati ang mga hukom.
Lalong ayaw kong isipin na nababahag ang buntot ng hustisya dahil kilalang matatapang at di nangingiming pumatay ang mga pangunahing suspect. Dumaraing na ang pamilya ng mahigit 50-kataong biktima na maramihang pinaslang. Karamihan sa mga ito ay kabaro natin sa media. Itinuturing itong pinakamalubhang uri ng media killing sa kasaysayan hindi lamang sa Pilipinas kundi sa buong mundo. Gusto kong ilathala ng buo ang pahayag ng Philippine Press Institute (PPI) kaugnay nito:
On Friday, 23 November 2012, three years will have passed since 58 people, 32 from the news media, were massacred in Ampatuan town, Maguindanao province, and what little gain made, if at all, toward justice in the case has been yet erased, courtesy of the Supreme Court. By reversing its decision to allow a public trial, the court has sent out frightening signals:
one, it can change its mind as it wishes;
two, it has done so in fact to favor men whose part in the massacre may have been simply alleged, but whose notoriety needs no proving – men widely observed flaunting their wealth, armory, and official power; and
three, it has thus implicitly ruled against the orphans of the massacre victims and the public at large whose wish for a public trial is precisely justified by the warlord habits and character of the accused.
Indeed, the Supreme Court decision is an outrage that finds its match in the massacre itself!