I cannot sleep yet, I just can't get off my head the recent killing today at Maguindanao. It echoes a lot of fear inside me. Not that the incident was near my place nor just at hand, nor I was even an eye witness, because no it’s not and I am not.
It happened early today, in Maguindanao.
In the southernmost part of the archipelago. Way too far in my own backyard and I have only heard of it through the news. Maybe it could bother a human person but no, it should not bother me this way, losing some sleep musing back and forth in my bed and thinking of what had happened to those who were killed, who were, mind you, mostly women.
And maybe that's it, because I am a woman. Or maybe there's more to it that touches me, and so now here I am to shout to the world, not just the news about what happened, but what was these thoughts and rambling running unceasingly over my head.
Events are:
1. The victims were abducted at about 10:30 a.m. while on their way to the Maguindanao Comelec office in Shariff Aguak to file a certificate of candidacy (COC) in behalf of Buluan, Maguindanao Vice Mayor Datu Ismail "Toto" Mangudadatu., who intends to run for governor in the province. Shariff Aguak, the provincial capital, is widely known as Ampatuan turf.
2. The victims are more or less 40 persons accompanying the wife and family of Toto. A big part of them are women and mediamen. Toto Mangudadatu was not in the entourage, as he clearly recognizes the suicidal nature of the journey for himself while trusting that his fellow Muslims, would not dare harm the women. For good measure, the women were accompanied by lawyers and media professionals.
3. They were all abducted anyway.
4. Female victims were sexually assaulted. "Karumdumal po talaga ang ginawa. Pinagdurog-durog ang ulo at yung mga pantalon nila binaba po, nakausli po yung mga ari ng babae (What they did was really heinous. The heads of the victims were bashed and the females stripped from the waist down)," he said
5. The all the vehicles that carries the Mangudadatus’ entourage were burned while the rest of the victims were shot and run over by the vehicles, beheaded and mutilated.
6. Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Public Information Office chief Lt. Col. Romero Brawner confirmed that as of yesterday afternoon, ground troops had recovered 21 bodies – 13 women and eight men – from the massacre site in Barangay Saniag, Ampatuan town. The others are still missing but believed to be unlikely survivors in the event.
7. The perpetrator of the crime is believed to be a rival political family: the Ampatuans. The Ampatuans are believed to have their own private army. A confidential AFP memorandum on the effects of the family feuds in Maguindanao, issued in November 2004, noted that the National Police and the military have been providing the CVOs with guns and ammunition.
8. Revenge killings and clashes among rival political families are common in Maguindanao and other parts of Mindanao island, where unlicensed firearms proliferate and parts of which are lawless. Islamic militants on Mindanao have also been waging a separatist rebellion for decades.
9. The Ampatuans are staunched allies of the Arroyo regime. Those familiar with local politics in Maguindanao say Ampatuan reached the apex of his power under the Arroyo administration, owing to the role he played a key role in Arroyo’s victory in the 2004 elections. In 2004, Arroyo garnered a total of 193,938 votes from Maguindanao’s 27 towns while closest rival Fernando Poe Jr., got only 59,892 votes. Poe did not get a single vote in 3 Maguindanao towns.
10. In 2007, Ampatuan once again demonstrated his dogged loyalty to the administration when he delivered to the administration’s Team Unity a 12-0 sweep in Maguindanao. Many candidates of the Genuine Opposition received not a single vote from 20 of Maguindanao’s 22 municipalities.
11. In that same poll, Ampatuan ran, uncontested, for reelection as governor of the province. So did several members of his family.
NOW WHAT?
1. Mrs. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, ordered her National Police to go after the perpetrators----will she really, knowing points 9 and 10?
2. The statement of Presidential adviser on Mindanao affairs Jesus Dureza that the "gruesome massacre" was "unequaled in recent history." And comments such as "...even women and media men were not spared. There must be a total stop to this senseless violence," whilst true should be viewed with alacrity and alarm as he ends with a recommendation of placing the entire Maguindanao province under a state of emergency---what if this is, in fact connected to the recent bombings, and the kidnappings (remember Fr. Sinnott’s hazy abduction and release that is so timed exactly at the visit of Hillary Clinton?) --- a scenario that will allow Mrs. Arroyo to dodge the 2010 elections and indefinitely stay in power?
In summary the killings are senseless, and grotesquely brutal. We must condemn such killings. And specially for fellow Filipinos, we must be always on guard on the possibilities that arise in lieu of this killings. We must push Mrs. Arroyo to deliver genuine justice. Believe me much is at stake in this gruesome event, even if it happens to only a part of the archipelago. Be vigilant.
grabe noh, napakalakas ng loob nila para gawin ito in broad daylight makes me want to extrapolate, may basbas kaya ito ng kanilang Poong may nunal? see points 9 and 10 above.
"Maybe we can prove to the whole world that our sense of nationhood is not limited to cheering Manny Pacquiao during his fights or continuously voting for our "kababayan" in an Internet poll.
It is time, more than ever, to show our unity in denouncing the repulsive actions of some individuals for their personal gain."
kasama sa mga dinukot at pinatay ay dalawang aktibong miyembro ng Union of Peoples' Lawyers in Mindanao at National Union of Peoples' Lawyers. Grabe na talaga ng impunity sa bansang ito
kasama sa mga dinukot at pinatay ay dalawang aktibong miyembro ng Union of Peoples' Lawyers in Mindanao at National Union of Peoples' Lawyers.
aw...
eh dahil sa nakapagdeliver sila ng boto para mailuklok ang pekeng presidente nuong 2004, ganito na lang kalakas ang loob nila. broad daylight at hindi iisang tao. kung isang tao nga, we strongly condemn, what more a carnage such as this?
Grabe, pano ba naman talaga uunlad ang bansa natin kung tayo-tayo lang din ang "nagtataluhan"? tsk, tsk.. Kya tuloy tayo nabibigyan ng comment ng ibang lahi eh. (see Korean Essay About Filipinos - Please Read) http://mgabobongpinoy.multiply.com/journal?&=&page_start=80
As quoted by Jaeyoun Kim : "I want Filipinos to love their neighborhood and country as much as they love God so that the Philippines will be well off."
Haay kung ganto lang talaga ginagawa natin noh, that LOVE would unite us... de sana wlang mga ganto, blessed pa tayo ng nasa Itaas... -- not the Poong may Nunal :)
nakakashock naman ito... panong nakakayanan ng mga tao na pumatay ng ganitong karami? pero totoo kaya ang bintang nila? maxadong give away naman kasi kung magpapapatay sila ng madami tapos, identified agad kung sino ang nagpapatay? or, ganito ba tlg sa kanila? mga walang takot!?
Kahit na sa malayo akong lugar, takot at pagkabahala ang bumalot sa akin. Pero lungkot ang nangibabaw sa lahat. Napakayaman ng ating lahi, ng ating kultura ng ating bansa pero naghihirap tayo dahil sa kagagawan ng mga namumuno mismo, ayaw sa kapayapaan. Hindi tayo dapat nagkakaganito, hindi na dapat madamay pa ang mga inosenteng tao/mga civilian.
Masyado nang nananaig ang love of power sa power of love!
Dapat e condoned agad ang bahay ng mga Apatuan at Dakpin Yong Matandang Aptaun pati yong anak na siya mismo ang nag led sa ground at dalhin dito sa Manila upang dina makakuha ng simpatiay sa mga supporters nila doon sa area. Matindi ito dapat totokan ito ng boong bansa..
Napakapahayop naman na pamamaraan ang ganitong klasing incident, dapat mahuli lahat ng sangkot dito. Pati si ARMM Governor Zaldy Ampatuan ay dapat ilagay sa preemptive suspension para dimaka gawa ng hakbang.
@mac mac super agree ako, may mga ginagawa naman na daw gaya ng pinalitan lahat ng PNP dun kasi malamang sangkot din at dadating na din daw dun si Mrs Arroyo at si Norberto Gonzales, kailangang maging mapagbantay at mapagmatyag, maaring ang pagpunta nila aya para magwhitewash tsk... o harinawa, makonsensya sila talaga at kahit kaalyadong dikit ay dapat mapatawaran ng karampatang hustisya!
What the hell is exactly going on? The wickedest people in this country roam free, while the men with purest hearts are persecuted. Who among us Filipinos in their right state of mind become happy with the massacre?
Looks like a civil war might erupt within Mindanao... I'm going to include this in my decade-ender special.
malala na to^^ bangayan lamang ng dalawang partido ang alam kongh dahilan neto^^ pero bakit ganon madaming nagsakripisyo ng buhay para lamang sa inaasam na pwesto^^ hindi sa pambibintang pero talagang ung katunggali nya sa pagkagobernador ang may sankot sa pangyayaring ito.. dahilang upang ikamatay ng 44 na taong walang kamalay malay^^masakit talagang isipin ^^ ang mga ganitong bagay^^
pray, bryan... yes prayer is potent, but prayer is most potent if it empowers us and gives us the courage to actually do something, action oriented. ;)
Statement of Tayo ang Pag-asa on the Maguindanao Massacre November 24, 2009
As of this writing, more than 40 bodies have been recovered from the site of massacre in Maguindanao. Media organizations have so far reported around 20 journalists killed, some of them freelance, along with two lawyers and the relatives of Ismael Mangudadatu, vice mayor of Buluan, Maguindanao. Other accounts say the women were raped, some were tortured, and all 50 persons in the convoy were killed in one fell swoop by a hundred hired goons.
The mass killing is a result of a long-held political feud between two warlord clans, the Ampatuans and Mangudadatus, both of which have private armies at their disposal.
It is bad enough that private armies can roam the streets with impunity, intercepting at will and in broad daylight those who wish to challenge the powers-that-be which they serve. In fact, since 2004, local and international organizations have pointed to the culture of impunity that afflicts the country, making possible political killings, graft, and corruption, among other crimes.
This time, however, the madness and senseless brutality of the killings brings the country to a new low, even in the context of the culture of impunity. The obstruction of those whose sole agenda is to register candidacy, a right that is most basic to democracy, compounded by the indiscriminate killing of journalists and unarmed citizens, tell of the utter lack of laws and principles that are the bedrock of any democratic system. That a local warlord can hire up to a hundred armed men, that in the first place warlordism is well and alive in parts of the country with ties that reach as high up as Malacañang, tells of a system that obeys barbarism more than it does justice.
Tayo ang Pag-asa therefore condemns in the strongest possible terms the Nov. 23 Maguindanao massacre. The incident brings to 20 the number of journalists killed in the line of duty this year, possibly making Philippines the most dangerous country for journalists in the world over. This brutality calls for nothing less than collective outrage and the most strident calls for justice and immediate punishment of the perpetrators.
Tayo ang Pag-asa also calls attention to the alleged ties of the Ampatuan clan to Pres. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, who in the 2004 and 2007 elections had landslide victories in areas controlled by the Ampatuans. In 2007, in fact, Arroyo’s Team Unity garnered a 12-0 vote in Maguindanao, a score which even experts say is a “statistical impossibility.” Undeniably, the Arroyo regime is complicit in the lawlessness that afflicts Maguindanao. Tayo ang Pag-asa therefore demands accountability from both the president and the warlord allies she has coddled.
There is much to be done for this semblance of a democratic system, where the vanguards of democracy – media persons and the citizenry – constantly face threats to their lives even in the exercise of their duties and civil rights.
If anything, the senseless loss of lives underscores the need to pursue a government that is not beholden to any individual or group except the public, that is able to punish the perpetrators with immediacy and political will, and that can guarantee all the rights of every citizen, including the right to life.
Tayo ang Pag-asa is an alliance of young individuals who are pushing for social change.
For queries, contact Alvin Peters (09206209362), president, National Union of Students of the Philippines.
otsopya wrote on Nov 24, '09, edited on Nov 24, '09
can at least the government ask the reason why the municipal backhoe is in the premises? isn't that an evidence that points that the governor (Ampatuan Sr) knows of this act and has blessed it in fact?
see how they are ready to bury the dead and alive together :o
Mayhem in Maguindanao! (a poem by Mark Kevin "MKDL Studios" Limkinglam)
A reign of chaos was sensed in the south Of this beautiful archipelago Maguindanao was the scene of the bout That ended up in a fiery fiasco
The wickedest people of this nation With guns, gold, and goons, Maguindanao was Turned into a playground of destruction Dozens of people were killed in a flash
It started when a vice mayor of his town Wished to become governor of his land The villains thought a plan to hunt him down They sent a mob with many a brigand
The solon was on his way to the keep Accompanied by newsmen and his friends His rival's deadly mobsters made him weep When his convoy met their untimely ends
A state of emergency was declared In two provinces and a big city The names of the goons must be truly bared To pay for their gruesome atrocity
The World has truly condemned this event Despised by almost of everybody As I end my own sorrowful lament Will we ever learn from this tragedy?
Akala ko ang backhoe na 'yun ay ginagamit ng mga pulis/imbestigador para ma-recover ang mga nilibing, 'yun pala kasama 'yun sa crime scene!
Kagabi sa news narinig ko ayon sa isa sa mga Mangadadatu ay nais niyang ipagpatuloy ang pagtakbo sa lugar nila para makaganti.
Anong klaseng ganti kaya 'yun? Huwag na sana nilang gamitin ang kapangyarihang maaaring iluklok sa kanila para sa paghihiganti. Alalahanin nilang pera ng taong bayan ang kanilang sasayangin. Mahiya naman sila sa mga nagsusumikap para maiahon ang buhay nila pati na rin ng ating bansa.
but the government reply about this incident is very slow because they are allies,but what if this happen to their enemies,may be their action is as fast as a split of a second.The government should be biased about this case
hay hessed talagang too much and more of this kind of carnage will happen hanggat mananatiling kimi ang mga tao. a collective needs to shout now. shout talaga. bingi sila eh.
hay hessed talagang too much and more of this kind of carnage will happen hanggat mananatiling kimi ang mga tao. a collective needs to shout now. shout talaga. bingi sila eh.
Parang feeling ko wala ng ibang venue kundi sa daan magsisigaw kasi yang mga korte na yan, yang mga law offices na yan, yang mga establishments na yan puno na ng mga ulol na hindi umuunawa. Naglalaway na lang naman sila sa pera, posisyon at kapangyarihan. Sabik na lang sila sa media exposure at wala ng genuine concern sa mga karahasang nangyayari.
Haay nako. Naiinis ako. Hindi na yata maaalis sakin tong ganitong pakiramdam. Ang gago talaga ng sistema oh. Ano na nangyayari sa kaso nila? Baka naman matulad lang ito sa "hyden kho scandal" ha. Putcha. Hot issue today, gone tomorrow. Sana maayos na tong ganitong gulo. Haay. Nakakapaginit ng ulo.
kakalerke, 209 times by 108 people? at 30 lang dito sa 108 ang contacts ko hehe, paano kaya sila naligaw sa page ko may naglink kaya nito? at sa sobrang disgust maybe wala na lang silang naicomment...
Proclamation 1959 is in power now in Maguindanao -- Martial Law was and is imposed on the particular province. The effect of which as promised by the government is to be able to serve justice more efficiently. Real facts and effects is quite contrary: Mass Murder and Multiple Rape is now reduced to a case of Rebellion which can be easily rewarded with Amnesty. The Ampatuans was given a wide open door to come out of its gory mess. Gloria Makapal Arroyo had also her chance to test-drive, dress-rehearse, how the people will accept Martial Law. She also had the chance to check as to how much of the Supreme Court, and the Congress is hers.
And yet no one is asking how the people in Maguindanao really feels about the whole issue. There are some who are actually relieved that they see soldiers instead of the Ampatuans carrying guns.
watch for the ANC Docu which will be aired this Friday, i saw a sneak preview last night. come on Mr. Mathematician, you've got to be so good in logic being so good in numbers, hanggang ngayon ba bulag ka pa din sa nais ng manok mong si Gloria Makapal Arroyo?
so because people are happy (if they really are which i doubt so much) then we disregard the other implications a Martial Law may bring and has already brought?
ako gusto ko rin ng Martial law kung sa disiplina ang aspeto ng pag-uusapan at hindi sa ganitong kaso na isang gahaman sa kapangyarihan ang magpapatupad nito...
parang nauulit lang yung 1972: pineke ni SENATE PRESIDENT JUAN PONCE ENRILE ang assassination attempt sa kanya para ma-justify ang pagpapatupad ng batas militar... sa tingin nyo kaya ano ang pinepeke ngayon ng pekeng administrasyon upang ma-justify ang martial law sa maguindanao? syempre yung attempted rebellion na kakuntsaba ang militar din mismo... san ba galing ang mga armas ng Ampatuan? diba hindi nila maipaliwanag na mga bala ng militar pero hawak ng mga Ampatuan... 2003 pa sinasabi sa atin yan, sa Oakwood pa nga...
watch for the ANC Docu which will be aired this Friday, i saw a sneak preview last night. come on Mr. Mathematician, you've got to be so good in logic being so good in numbers, hanggang ngayon ba bulag ka pa din sa nais ng manok mong si Gloria Makapal Arroyo?
so because people are happy (if they really are which i doubt so much) then we disregard the other implications a Martial Law may bring and has already brought?
no i'm not saying that. what i'm saying is that we look at all sides of the story. its easy for those in manila to say no to martial law. have you ever tried traveling only to be stopped by a check point manned by the MILF? how do you think that feels?
why does the Maguindanao issue have to be a choice between anti or pro GMA? why can't it be for peace in Maguindanao? Or Mindanao for that matter. people are happy because they don't see the Ampatuans strutting around carrying guns and deciding if you get to live or not,
In addition, one can't help but get the feeling that had there been no media people involved, it wouldn't be this big an issue. I say that because there had been a lot of killings in Mindanao. In Iligan City for example, a bombing where there were no casualties resulted in a tv news coverage of less than 30 seconds.
what i'm saying is that we look at all sides of the story.
guffaw! i really had to let my ass roll down on this. thanks for making me laugh so hard. ;) i am sorry for being sarcastic. but that--exactly is the point: try looking at all sides of the story squidballs. one, my group have mass bases in mindanao, and they report to us. two, i have relatives in mindanao, i won't have to tell where. zaragosa's and montalban's. three, i had assessed the story. had looked for the definition of rebellion, had researched on the Mangundadatu and Ampatuan ancestry way back 1950s, had traced the roots who gave them power, why and how, and to whose gain will one thing after the other had to benefit.
have you ever questioned why there are insurgents. NPA and MILF and who else? there are bandits and there are revolutionaries. what is the difference of having an MILF to man the area and a military to man the area? there is still terror. you should go yourself in mindanao :) have you, btw? the nation is at a civil war, no matter how much we deny it, at the countryside, people are fighting and people are getting killed. and its not a joke, its not a leisure walk for most of them. will violence end this way? no. violence shall only end when TRUE social justice had been served.
now you ask me why does the Maguindanao issue have to be a choice between anti or pro GMA? that is a question asked by person who have not taken the time to conscientiously stop, weigh things on both sides, and actively look for the truth and root cause of all this issue. mababaw na pagtingin ang magalit lang sa mga Ampatuan kung bakit nila pinatay ang mga inosenteng napadaan lang at kahit di kasama sa convoy ni Mangundadatu at kung bakit sila pumatay ng ganun kadaming tao, at nanghalay ng ganun kadaming babae... not to mention the mangled body parts... we condemn the Ampatuans, we all agree with that, pero that even is superficial and very much lacking.
dare to ask, who gave them that power? just their fucked-off-selves?
"Kaya iyong pag-armas natin sa kanila ay bilang pagpapasalamat langiyon. Ang dami niya kasing naitulong sa military, sagobyerno." --Retired Maj. Gen. Jovito Palparan (now running for Senator), on arming the Ampatuan
i dont know... you tell me... but whether erap's government or gloria's government... it is the GOVERNMENT that issued and gave permission for all those arms and ammunitions...
this is not an issue between anti or pro... we are speaking about the 57 atrocities/murders that will be superceded once rebellion charges are filed... that is the difference...
and i believe sexual assault is not rebellion... and in the issue of upholding the law... do we justify martial law because the police and military cannot do their tasks properly in apprehending the culprits... it is not martial law, it is failure of the justice system to exert the proper laws and restore order in maguindanao...
i wouldn't be surprised that the police are involved. 
