Reporter fears his being surveilled could be connected to massacre: CMFR

PHILIPPINES – A journalist in General Santos City claims that unidentified men have been watching his house.

General Santos City is a chartered city in the southernmost Philippine island of Mindanao. It is approximately 1,049 kilometers south of Manila.

Aquiles Zonio, a correspondent of the Manila newspaper Philippine Daily Inquirer, said two men riding tandem on a motorcycle took his photograph last 24 October 2010 while he was in front of his house. The following day, on 25 October 2010, Zonio said a motorcycle-riding man was “peeking through our gate… He seemed to be checking if my motorcycle was there.”

In a text message to the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR) last 29 October, Zonio said the surveillance might be related to his continuing reports on the Ampatuan Massacre. Zonio was one of the journalists who were supposed to be part of the Mangudadatu convoy last 23 November 2009, but he and two others had to go back to their Sultan Kudarat hotel to get their valuables. (Zonio’s account of their experience can be accessed at http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view/20091125-238187/Hotel-incident-made-us-skip-media-convoy-at-last-minute.)

Two other men he did not know also checked out his house on 26 October (around 8:40 p.m.), and on 27 October (around 4:30 a.m. local time), leading Zonio to suspect that they were trying to establish what his daily routine was. Zonio has reported the incidents to the local police.

On 23 November 2009, about 100 men allegedly led by Andal “Unsay” Ampatuan Jr. stopped and killed 58 persons including 32 journalists who had joined the wife and sisters of now Maguindanao Governor Esmael “Toto” Mangudadatu in filing his certificate of candidacy in Barangay Salman, Ampatuan town, Maguindanao.

Unsay Ampatuan and 195 others are now facing multiple murder charges before a local court in Quezon City. (For more information on the Ampatuan massacre, visit http://www.cmfr-phil.org/ampatuanwatch/.)


Link: http://www.cmfr-phil.org/2010/10/29/reporter-fears-his-being-surveilled-could-be-connected-to-massacre/

Policeman says he was paid for Maguindanao massacre

MANILA, Philippines – A police officer on Wednesday testified in court that he was paid about 350 dollars by a powerful Muslim clan scion to help carry out the country's worst political massacre.

Inspector Rex Ariel Diongon said he received the money from prime suspect Andal Ampatuan Junior to set up the police checkpoint that stopped the convoy of a rival politician in the southern province of Maguindanao November 23 last year.

The convoy carried relatives of Esmael “Toto” Mangudadatu who were going to file his candidacy to run against Ampatuan Jr. for provincial governor.

"Do you know who our enemies are? Are you capable of killing them?" Diongon quoted Ampatuan as saying.

He recalled answering "yes,” but said he only did so out of fear.

He said Ampatuan paid him P15,000 (about US$350) for the job, adding that he saw at least three other police officials receive pay-offs as well.

When the convoy, carrying Mangudadatu's wife and other relatives, their lawyers and 32 journalists arrived, Diongon said his men stopped their vehicles, allowing Ampatuan and his gunmen to take the passengers away.

Other witnesses in the trial have said that Ampatuan and his armed followers forced 57 people out of their vehicles, beat them up despite pleas for mercy before taking them to a hilly area where they were gunned down.

One witness, a former servant of the clan, said the Ampatuan family planned the massacre days in advance.

Diongon said he saw Ampatuan poking a gun at the passengers and hitting them but he did not say he witnessed the actual shooting.

The policeman was testifying for the prosecution in the trial of Ampatuan Jr. and several of his relatives and bodyguards as well as for several policemen accused of helping in the massacre.

Apart from Ampatuan Jr., his father and namesake, three brothers and an uncle as well as police officers loyal to the clan and members of the family's private army are among 196 people accused in the crime.

Police on Tuesday said 119 of the accused remained at large.

The Ampatuans ruled Maguindanao for over a decade under the patronage of former president Gloria Arroyo, who had used the clan as a proxy force against Muslim separatist rebels.

But popular disgust at the massacre forced her to cut her ties to the clan.

Prosecutors have voiced fears that the trial could last for months in the country's notoriously slow court system. (Agence France-Presse)

Philippine massacre victims ‘begged for mercy’

MANILA (AFP) – A witness at the trial of the Philippines’ worst political massacre told the court Wednesday that the victims begged for mercy as they were beaten before being taken away to be shot.

Muslim farmer Nuruddin Mauyag told the court he was standing nearby when defendant Andal Ampatuan Jnr and his men blocked the victims’ convoy near the witness’ home and made them lie on the ground while their mobile phones were taken away.

“They were hit with the butt of firearms, the armed men punched them, kicked them, punched them on the back of the head, slapped them,” Mauyag, 35, testified.

“They (victims) were crying and some women said ‘why are you doing this to us, we are media,” he said.

Ampatuan, a member of a Muslim political clan that had ruled the southern province of Maguindanao for a decade, is accused of planning and taking part in the November 23, 2009 massacre of 57 people there.

The clan is accused of abducting the victims, including relatives of a political rival and journalists, and murdering them to stop a rival from challenging their rule of Maguindanao in the May 2010 elections.

Ampatuan’s father and namesake, three brothers and an uncle, as well as police officers and the clan’s bodyguards are among 196 people accused in the crime.

At least 120 of the suspects remain at large, according to human rights monitors.

Mauyag said Ampatuan grabbed a tall Muslim woman at the checkpoint, later identified by prosecutors as Genalyn Mangudadatu, wife of his rival for the Maguindanao provincial governor’s post, Esmael Mangudadatu.

When she protested Ampatuan fired on the ground between her legs, the witness said.

“You are hard headed, I will shoot you now, I will kill you,” the witness quoted Ampatuan as saying.

Mauyag is the second prosecution witness to testify. Last week, he told the court that he saw the gunmen trucked to the area days before the massacre.

The first witness, a former servant of the Ampatuan family, told the court last week that he witnessed the Ampatuan defendants plot to kill Esmael Mangudadatu during a meeting on November 17, 2009. (AFP)

Justice For Maguindanao Massacre Victims; 10 Months Had Passed!

It is 10 months now since the Maguindanao massacre where at least 32 journalists were among 57 people brutally murdered.

'Ampatuan gave bribe money to officials’: ABS-CBN

MANILA, Philippines - Prosecution witness Lakmudin Saliao continued on Wednesday his explosive testimony against his former boss, this time tagging the Ampatuan patriarch in a bribery spree to have criminal charges against the members of the family dropped.

During the 2nd day of trial of the Maguindanao massacre case, Saliao said former Maguindanao Governor Andal Ampatuan, Sr. ordered his spiritual adviser to transmit millions of money to several government and police officials to make life easier for his family.

On top of his list is former Presidential Adviser on Mindanao Affairs Jesus Dureza who was allegedly bribed P10 million to have a separate rebellion charge dropped.

The Ampatuans were also slapped with a rebellion case for allegedly disrupting government offices at the height of investigations. The government had implemented martial rule in some parts of Maguindanao to rein in the Ampatuans.

The rebellion case came after the massacre of 57 civilians on November 23. The Ampatuans allegedly masterminded the killings.

The Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 77 quashed the rebellion charges early this year. A motion for reconsideration has yet to be resolved.

Saliao, who directly linked Andal’s son and namesake to the execution of the killings, said Chief Inspector Sukarno Dicay and police officer Rainier Ebus were given P10 million each for them to retract earlier testimonies.

Another P20 million was also given to Maguindanao board member Mike Midtimbang to ensure the family’s welfare while under incarceration.
The Ampatuan patriarch supposedly gave the directives on March 11.

Prior to that, on February 28, Ampatuan Sr. supposedly instructed his spiritual adviser to give P200 million to Umbra Sinsuat, the Ampatuan’s then candidate for the position of Maguindanao governor.

The adviser, known only as Ustaj Sarid Agas, was also ordered to give P36 million to Omar Sayadi, the husband of a Maguindanao administrative officer.

Saliao also revealed that Ampatuan Sr., then under hospital arrest inside a military camp in Panakan, Davao City also ordered a son-in-law working with the Land Transportation Office to tweak the records of cars registered under their names.

Private prosecutors said they will ask the Anti-Money Laundering Council to track the bank records of the Ampatuans.

They will also start the filing of administrative charges against those who supposedly took part in bribing witnesses and families of the victims. – (Reports from Ces Drilon, ABS-CBN News)

Link:
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/09/15/10/%E2%80%98ampatuan-gave-bribe-money-officials%E2%80%99

Witness Implicates Prominent Family in Philippine Massacre

MANILA, Philippines - Testimony has begun in the trial of a prominent Philippine politician accused in last year's massacre of 57 people, including at least 30 journalists.

A former house servant of Andal Ampatuan told the court Wednesday his boss had gathered his children at his home to discuss how to stop a rival politician from running for governor of southern Maguindanao province.

The employee, Lakmudin Saliao, said Andal Ampatuan Junior told his father the easy thing to do would be to "kill them all."

Andal Junior is the main suspect in last November's massacre in Maguindanao and he is one of nearly 200 people, including his father, linked to the crime.

The Ampatuan family had ruled the southern province for nearly a decade. Andal Junior was a local mayor who was also running for governor of Maguindanao at the time of the massacre.

Among those killed were several relatives of the rival politician, including his wife and sisters.

Many of the suspects remain at large.

Saliao testified that Andal Junior was waiting for the convoy on the day of the massacre and received instructions from his father by phone. He said the elder Ampatuan wanted to spare the lives of the journalists traveling in the convoy, but that his son insisted they be killed so there would be no witnesses.

Media watchdog groups say this is the deadliest single attack on reporters in the world. (AFP, AP and Reuters)

Operasyon kontra masaker suspek patuloy sa Mindanao

Isang supporter ni dating Muslim autonomous regional governor Zaldy Ampatuan habang naglalakad sa bayan ng Shariff Aguak sa Maguindanao. (Mindanao Examiner Photo)

MAGUINDANAO (Mindanao Examiner / Aug. 15, 2010) – Walang humpay ang paghahanap ng pulisya sa mga umano’y sangkot sa masaker ng 57 katao nuong nakaraang taon sa lalawigan ng Maguindanao habang patuloy naman ang kaso laban sa ilang miyembro ng angkan ng Ampatuan na iniuugnay sa brutal na pagpaslang.

Kamakailan lamang ay nadakip ang isa pang suspek na si Atutuhon Esmael, na umano’y tauhan ng mga Ampatuan na sabit sa pagpatay. Kabilang sa mga pinaslang ay 32 journalists na kasama sa convoy ng pamilya ni Esmael Mangudadatu, na noon ay bise alkalde ng isang bayan sa Maguindanao.

Kasamang nasawi ang asawa ni Mangudadatu at kapatid na noon sana ay patungo sa opisina ng Commission on Elelctions upang maghain ng kanyang papeles sa pagpatakbo bilang gobernador ng lalawigan.

Sinabi ni Chief Superintendent Bienvenido Latag, ang hepe ng pulisya sa Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, na ang suspek ay nadakip sa bayan ng Datu Hoffer.

Halos 200 katao ang isinangkot ng mga awtoridad sa masaker nuong Nobyembre 23 at kasama ditto ang gobernador ng Muslim autonomoua region na si Zaldy Ampatuan; ang amang si Andal Ampatuan, ang kapatid na si Andal Jr., at iba pang miyembro ng pamilya na ngayon ay nakapiit sa bilangguan sa Maynila.

“Walang tigil yun ating paghahanap sa mga suspek sa masaker at tuloy-tuloy ang ating operasyon upang sila ay madakip,” ani Latag.

Itinanggi ng mga Ampatuan ang akusasyon laban sa kanila at kumuha ng mga de-kalibreng abokado upang labanan ang mga kasong isinampa ng mga pamilya ng nasawi. (Mindanao Examiner)

Child dead, 3 others wounded in Maguindanao bombing

MAGUINDANAO, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / July 13, 2010) – An improvised bomb exploded in the restive southern region of the Philippines and killing a child and wounding three more, an army spokesman said on Tuesday.

Lieutenant Colonel Benjamin Hao, of the 6th Infantry Division, said the blast tore through a police outpost in Maguindanao’s Datu Piang town late Monday. Two men riding tandem on a motorcycle were suspected of carrying out the attack, he said.

“A child was killed in the blast and three others are wounded – two of them adults and the other is a college student,” Hao told the Mindanao Examiner.

He said the attackers fled even before the explosion and were being hunted by security forces. “Police and military are still investigating the motive of the attack,” Hao said.

No individual or group claimed responsibility for the bombing, but the town has been in the past a target of attacks by Moro rebels and followers of the powerful Ampatuan clan – linked by authorities to last year’s massacre of 57 people - whose patriarch Andal Ampatuan, former governor of Maguindanao; and his sons, including the governor of the Muslim autonomous region, Zaldy Ampatuan, were implicated in the brutal slayings.

Close to 200 people were accused of participating in the killings and among the victims were at least 32 journalists who accompanied the political caravan of Esmael Mangudadatu, then the vice mayor of Buluan town.

The Ampatuans have been arrested and are currently locked up in prison in Manila, but they still enjoy special treatment because of their influence and immense wealth. (Mindanao Examiner)

MILF dumistansya sa isyu ng napatay na Maguindanao massacre witness

MAGUINDANAO, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / June 27, 2010) – Mariing Itinanggi kahapon ng Moro Islamic Liberation Front na nasa poder nito ang start witness sa binansagang “Maguindanao massacre” bago ito napatay sa bayan ng Parang sa lalawigan ng Maguindanao.

Ito ay matapos na lumabas sa pahayagan na si Suwaib Upham ay nasa pangangalaga ng rebeldeng grupo bago ito pinatay nitong buwan lamang. Si Upham ay kabilang sa mga pumatay sa 57 katao at 32 dito ay pawang mga journalists na sumama lamang sa political caravan ni Esmael Mangudadatu, na ngayon ay gobernador ng Maguindanao.

Isinabit ni Upham ang dating gobernador na si Andal Ampatuan Sr., at ang anak nitong si Andal Jr., ang mayor ng bayan ng Datu Unsay; at ilang pang mga miyembro ng Ampatuan clan.

Ngunit sa dami ng nalalaman ni Upham ukol sa massacre ay nagpasya itong bumaligtad sa takot na ipapatay ng mga Ampatuan matapos na isa-isang ang kanyang mga kasamahan.

Hindi naman mabatid kung bakit sinabi ng pulisya sa Maguindanao na nasa pangangangalaga ng MILF si Upham, subalit unang idiniin ni Andal Jr., ang rebeldeng grupo na siyang umanong nasa likod ng massacre.

“This is grossly unfair; how we could take care of someone who owed blood debt to the people?” tanong pa ni Bon Al-Haq, ang spokesman ng MILF.

Sinabi ni Al-Haq na malaki ang kasalanan ni Upham sa batas dahil sa massacre. Kaaway rin ng MILF ang mga Ampatuan dahil sa diumano’y pagnakaw ng mga ito sa lupain ng mga Muslim sa kanilang mga nasasakupang lugar at sa maraming krimen na umano'y kinasangkutan ng ankan. Itinanggi naman ng mga Ampatuan ang lahat ng paratang sa kanila. (Mindanao Examiner)

US condemns murder of key witness in Maguindanao massacre

MANILA, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / June 25, 2010) – The United States on Friday condemned the murder of a key witness in last year’s brutal slaying of 57 people in the southern Philippines.

Assassin had shot Suwaib Upham last week in the town of Parang in Maguindanao province whose governor Andal Ampatuan Sr. and his sons were linked by authorities to the November 23 killings.

Among those killed were at least 32 journalists accompanying the political caravan of Esmael Mangudadatu, a political foe of the Ampatuan clan. His wife and sisters and supporters were also murdered.

Upham was one of those accused in the grisly slayings, but he turned against the powerful Ampatuan clan for fear that he would also be killed after some of those involved were murdered one after the other.

“I deplore the murder of Mr. Suwaib Upham, who bravely came forward to testify about the tragic Maguindanao massacre. I urge the Philippine authorities to conduct a swift investigation into his death and bring those responsible to justice,” said US Ambassador Harry Thomas, Jr.

No individual or group claimed responsibility for Upham’s murder, but Thomas urged Manila to investigate the killing.

“This murder adds additional urgency to the need for swift investigation and prosecution of those responsible for the brutal massacre of 57 people in Maguindanao in November 2009. Too many families still wait justice, and now the Upham family joins them,” Thomas said.

Nearly 200 people had been charged in the murders, including Datu Unsay town mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr., one of the prime suspects; and his elder brother, Zaldy Ampatuan, the governor of the Muslim autonomous region, among other clan members.

About one-third of those accused are now locked- up in jail, including the clan’s patriarch and his sons, but they still enjoy special treatment in prisons because of their immense wealth and influence.

Just recently, another witness to the murders, Lakmodin Saliao, an aide of the clan’s patriarch, surfaced and implicated the Ampatuans. (Mindanao Examiner)

Maguindanao Massacre Witness Killed: AFP

MANILA, Philippines (Agence France-Presse) – A key witness in the trial of a powerful Muslim clan accused of orchestrating the worst political massacre in the Philippines has been shot dead, a prosecutor said Thursday.

The witness, Suwaib Upham, claimed to have taken part in the November killings of 57 people in a crime allegedly planned by his former employers, the Ampatuan clan.

"He was supposed to be one of our strongest witnesses," prosecutor Harry Roque told Agence France-Presse. "He saw, and participated in, the killings and could have directly named in court those involved."

Roque warned that Upham's killing, which he was told occurred last week in the southern province of Maguindanao, could potentially weaken the case against the Ampatuan family.

US-based Human Rights Watch also said the killing raised doubts about the government's resolve in seeing justice done in the case.

"Massacre witnesses are dying while the government sits on its hands," the group's Asia director Elaine Pearson said in a statement. "This sends the worst possible message to other witnesses thinking of coming forward."

His death comes two months after an uncle of another witness was also shot and killed, in what authorities said was part of a plan to intimidate those speaking out against the Ampatuan clan.

The clan had ruled Maguindanao with brutal efficiency for a decade prior to the massacre. They also enjoyed political ties with outgoing President Gloria Arroyo, who used the family's huge private army as a force against separatist rebels.

Six clan members are among 196 people charged over the murders, allegedly carried out to prevent a member of a rival clan from running as governor of the province. (AFP)

DoJ dangles P55-million aid for families of Maguindanao massacre victims: Manila Bulletin

MANILA, Philippines - Acting Justice Secretary Alberto Agra disclosed Thursday the signing of a Declaration of Commitment covering P55 million in aid package for families of the November 23, 2009 massacre victims.

The aid package is meant for academic scholarships, health, and medical assistance and livelihood projects for the victims’ families.

The victims’ families and their lawyers are expected to attend Friday’s signing.

The DoJ sourced P5 million of the aid package from the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office and P50 million from the Federation of Philippine Industries).

Last Wednesday, Agra reversed his April 16, 2010 decision, clearing detained Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) Governor Zaldy Ampatuan and Akmad Ampatuan, citing new testimonies pointing to existence of probable cause to indict them for conspiracy in the Nov. 23, 2009 massacre.

In his 30-page resolution dated May 5, 2010, Agra reconsidered its April 16 resolution clearing Zaldy and Akmad Ampatuan out of the charge sheet after lawyer Nena Santos presented the testimony of another new witness – Abdul Talusan – who claimed that he saw the two of them present during the Nov. 22 meeting at the Shariff Aguak mansion of former Maguindanao Governor Andal Ampatuan Sr. where the massacre was allegedly plotted by the Ampatuans. (Manila Bulletin - Jeamma Sabate)


Link:http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/256251/doj-dangles-p55million-aid-families-maguindanao-victims

Massacre echoes in Philippine election: CNN

Editha lost her husband in a massacre that killed 56 others in Maguindanao last year. While afraid for the safety of her family, she hopes for justice. (CNN)

MANILA, Philippines - I didn't need to understand a word of what Editha was saying to feel her anguish. Her voice was thick and guttural, the sound of a woman utterly exhausted by sorrow and pain.

I look over to her 10-year-old daughter Herminia who surprisingly breaks out into a massive smile, as if the conversation wasn't about how her daddy died.

Herminia's father, Daniel, had taken on a second job with UNTV, a local network, to make extra money to support the family.

Last November 23 he was in the lead vehicle in a convoy carrying Esmail "Toto" Mangudadatu's wife, two sisters and other women on their way to file election papers for governor.

Mangudadatu was daring to challenge the powerful Ampatuan clan that governs the province of Maguindanao with guns and intimidation -- and with support from the government in Manila.

He thought it would be safer to send women, but he was wrong.

The convoy was ambushed, everyone in it slaughtered, including Mangudadatu's wife, two sisters, other women and at least 30 journalists.
Video: Philippines politics
If we don't do anything, this case will be forgotten with all the problems this country faces

Fifty-seven bodies were recovered, some shot assassination-style, others when their vehicles were sprayed with bullets and then crushed.

Daniel was in the lead vehicle.

"It's very painful, I couldn't accept what had happened to him because when I saw them pulling out the van that he was in, it was flattened," Editha said slowly. "It looked like a crushed can of Coke. And he was there in the car. I didn't know how to tell my children that their daddy was there."

She said the kids initially refused to believe their father was in the convoy. They were convinced that he had escaped or survived.

"It wasn't until I brought home his remains that they believed that it had happened," she said.

As we sat looking at old family photos, Herminia peered over. She said nothing, but each time we made eye contact she smiled, catching me off guard. I smile back each time, remembering her mother saying Herminia was the most affected among the three children by their father's death.

We met at my hotel. Editha doesn't allow the media to film her at her house. If they do something to me, I have three children who will be left behind," she said. "Who will look after them?"

Even though the government has thrown 200 people behind bars -- most of them members of the Ampatuan clan -- their reach and ability to instill paralyzing fear is not impaired.

Clan members -- among them some who are currently detained but not yet convicted -- are still running for government posts in the upcoming elections. And even though the senior members are being held at a "maximum security facility," Andal Ampatuan Jr. held a press conference declaring his innocence and endorsing one of the candidates for president.

For decades the Ampatuans ruthlessly ruled Maguindanao. Under President Gloria Arroyo they cemented their grip on power and expanded their private militias, armed by the government to help counter a growing Islamist insurgency.

The family patriarch is the governor; his son the mayor. Cousins, relatives, loyalists all hold positions of power.

Following a nationwide outcry after the massacre, authorities said they were looking into how these so-called "force extenders" turned into partisan armed groups.

The government cut all ties with its former allies, Arroyo declared martial law in the area, the Ampatuans' weapons were confiscated -- many of them government issued.

The government is now trying to rein in the different private militias in the country, but it's not going so far as to ban them.

Arroyo's spokesman said the government's relationship to the Ampatuans ought not to be judged in terms of what happened in prior years, but in terms of how the government responded when there was an actual crime committed by the family.

But the looming question still is: Will the Ampatuans really face justice?

Harry Roque, who represents Editha and some of the other families of the victims, said that the biggest challenges are overcoming the weak judicial system, with its conviction rate of only 18 percent, and the state itself, which he doesn't trust to prosecute the Ampatuans.

"We have in fact legitimized state terrorism in the sense that all 197 accused in the case are all state organs," Roque explains.

As voters head to the polls, many hope a new government will break what has become a pattern of alliances with forces all too willing to use violence to maintain their grip on power.

Editha is afraid of retaliation, but her desire for justice is stronger.

"We need to fight for this," she said, fighting tears. "If we don't do anything, this case will be forgotten with all the problems this country faces." (CNN - Arwa Damon)


Link: http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/05/05/philippines.maguindanao/?hpt=C1

Philippine Justice Secretary Reverses Ruling On 2 Massacre Suspects

The evidence from the “Maguindanao Massacre” are being guarded by the Philippine police in Mindanao. Justice Secretary Alberto Agra reversed his earlier ruling absolving two members of a powerful political clan accused of murdering at least 57 people in Maguindanao province last year. (Mindanao Examiner Photo)

MANILA, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / May 5, 2010) – Philippine Justice Secretary Alberto Agra reversed his earlier ruling absolving two members of a powerful political clan accused of murdering at least 57 people in Maguindanao province last year.

Agra said there is a probable cause to pursue criminal chargers against Zaldy Ampatuan, the governor of the Muslim autonomous region in Mindanao; and Akmad Ampatuan, whom he both cleared of all charges last month.

His decision to absolve the two men drew strong criticism and condemnation from different media groups and human rights advocates.

Agra said his decision to pursue the cases against the Ampatuans was based on testimonies of new witnesses who surfaced last week.

In his earlier ruling, Agra said there was no evidence to link the two men to the murders after the suspended governor insisted he was in Manila with President Gloria Arroyo when the massacre occurred.

The two are among over a hundred people, including the clan’s patriarch Andal Ampatuan Sr, accused in the massacre in Maguindanao. The Ampatuans are strong political allies of Arroyo, who was also accused of poll fraud and cheating in past elections.

The Department of Justice earlier junked rebellion charges in connection with the Maguindanao massacre against the Ampatuans, whose prime suspect is Andal Ampatuan Jr.

He is accused of leading the killings of 57 people, including at least 32 journalists, who accompanied a political caravan of a rival clan, the Mangudadatus.

The caravan was traveling when it was stopped by gunmen in Shariff Aguak town and killed and buried its passengers in two mass graves in nearby town of Ampatuan. Among those killed were the wife and sister of Esmael Mangudadatu who is running for governor in the May 10 general elections.

Andal Jr denied all the charges against them and blamed Moro rebels for the massacre, an allegation strongly rejected by authorities. (Mindanao Examiner)

US to press resolution for Nov. 23 carnage

MANILA, Philippines - The United States government has vowed to continuously pressure the Philippine government to go after and prosecute the criminals behind the bloody Maguindanao massacre, The Manila Times reported.

“We will continue to urge that the Philippine government aggressively and thoroughly pursue and bring to justice those responsible for the killings,” US Ambassador to the Philippines Harry Thomas Jr. said in his message for the World Press Freedom Day.

Thomas Jr. was referring to the November 23, 2009 carnage wherein at least 57 people including 30 journalists were killed and buried using a backhoe in a matter of hours in one day. Witnesses of the Maguindanao killings have pointed out to Datu Unsay Mayor Andal Ampatuan, Jr. who allegedly used his armada of private armies to stage the massacre and neutralize his political rivals in the upcoming May elections in the process.

“The November 23 massacre was met with horror, shock and outrage in the Philippines, in America, and around the world. The United States condemned that atrocity in the strongest possible terms. Americans stand together with Filipinos in support of the members of the press, who labor every day to expose truth and enhance accountability,” Thomas pointed out.

The US envoy cited that in 1948, both the US and the Philippines as well as many other nations adopted the Universal Declaration on Human Rights which include the fundamental principle that everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.

“The role of a free press is just as much a pillar of democracy as elections are,” he added. (Llanesca T. Panti)

Maguindanao Massacre: Still No Justice For 57 People Brutally Killed In South RP

Today is the 5th month that gunmen brutally killed 57 people, including at least 32 journalists, accompanying a political caravan in Maguindanao province in the Muslim autonomous region. Justice is still elusive for the victims of the massacre.

Arroyo under fire over Maguindanao massacre case

MANILA, Philippines - Outraged relatives of the 57 people killed in the Philippines' worst political massacre said Wednesday they feared the government was protecting a powerful Muslim clan accused of the murders.

The relatives and their lawyers hit out at President Gloria Arroyo's team after it dropped murder charges against two clan members and allowed the main suspect to protest his innocence in a rare jailhouse press conference.

"We went back into our depression and all the families were enraged," Myrna Reblando, widow of one of the victims, said when asked about the decision to drop the charges against Zaldy and Akmad Ampatuan.

Justice Secretary Alberto Agra said on the weekend he had decided to drop the charges against the pair -- barely two months after charging them -- but Reblando and others said they were convinced the decision came from higher up.

"Something like this couldn't happen without her (Arroyo) knowing about it," Reblando told reporters outside a Manila court that was hearing initial proceedings against 15 policemen also charged over the slaughter.

The Ampatuans are a powerful clan that ruled the southern province of Maguindanao for a decade thanks in part to a close alliance with Arroyo and her ruling coalition, which allowed them to run their own private army.

However she was forced to publicly end the alliance after top clan members were accused of orchestrating the massacre of 57 people on November 23 last year in Maguindanao to allegedly eliminate the challenge of a political rival.

Andal Ampatuan Jnr, then a local mayor, is alleged to have led 100 gunmen in abducting a convoy of the rivals' relatives, plus accompanying journalists and lawyers.

His father, then the governor of Maguindanao and a member of Arroyo's coalition party, is among 194 other people also charged with murder.

Lawyer Harry Roque, representing some of the victims' families, told reporters Wednesday he had applied for court proceedings to be postponed until July, when Arroyo will have stepped down a new justice secretary appointed.

"Does this mean we don't believe we can get justice under Arroyo? The answer is yes," Roque said.

Roque and government prosecutors also questioned why Ampatuan Jnr was allowed to hold a press conference on Tuesday in a Manila prison where he was being detained.

"I'm surprised, why in a high-security facility, one of the accused was able to conduct a full-blown press conference," Roque said.

Government prosecutor Richard Fadullon said he had also filed an application to the court asking that the jail warden be made to explain why the press conference was allowed.

Arroyo's spokesman, Gary Olivar, insisted Wednesday that the president was not giving the Ampatuans any favours.

"It should be clear to everyone of good faith that the president shares the desire of the victims for quick and comprehensive justice in this matter," Olivar told AFP.

He also denied that Arroyo was involved in the decision to allow Ampatuan Jnr to hold a press conference.

"Jailhouse interviews with suspects... I don't think that rises to the level of president," he said. (Agence France-Presse)

Group flags nations where journalists' killings are unsolved

The Committee to Protect Journalists has placed 12 countries on its Impunity Index, a list of countries where journalists have been killed and their killers have not been found, CNN reported.

The organization's third annual compilation, released Tuesday, cites Iraq, Somalia, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Colombia, Afghanistan, Nepal, Russia, Mexico, Pakistan, Bangladesh and India.

The index, which covers 2000 through 2009, describes the countries as places "where journalists are murdered on a recurring basis and governments are unable or unwilling to prosecute the killers."

Leading the field for the third consecutive year was Iraq, where all 88 journalist killings remain unsolved, the committee said. All but seven cases involve local journalists, "the vast majority of whom" were targeted by insurgents, it said on its website.

But last year marked the first since the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003 that no killing directly related to a journalist's work was documented there by the organization. Still, four journalists were killed in crossfire in 2009, it said.

Iraq's Impunity Index Rating was 2.794 unsolved journalist killings per million inhabitants, nearly triple the rate of any other country.

Somalia ranked second, "reflecting insurgents' routine use of violence to control the news media," CPJ said.

The incidence of fatal, unpunished violence against journalists has increased in the Philippines, Somalia, Russia and Mexico, it said.

But Brazil and Colombia, long among the world's deadliest nations for the news media, each showed improvements, with Brazil moving off the list, the committee reported.

"We've heard repeated pledges from governments that the killers of journalists will face justice, but until these promises are fulfilled, media will continue to be targeted by those who believe they are above the law and immune from consequences," said Joel Simon, CPJ's executive director.

The group noted that many of the countries on the index present themselves as democracies with functioning law enforcement -- nations such as India, Russia, the Philippines, and Mexico.

The index includes only those nations with five or more unsolved cases.

In the Philippines, 30 journalists and two media support workers were killed in Maguindanao province, it said, boosting the country from sixth to third on the index. "The massacre overshadowed gains that Philippine authorities had made, winning convictions in two journalist murders," the committee said.

In Russia, which ranked eighth, three journalists were killed last year, bringing the country's 10-year total of unsolved killings to 18, it said.

Mexico moved from 11th to ninth, reflecting continuing violence against crime reporters there, it said. In Mexico, self-censorship is widespread, it said. Many nations on the list have seen a reduction in the flow of information.

In fourth-ranked Sri Lanka, with 10 unsolved killings, "many of the country's most senior journalists have fled into exile," the CPJ said.

"Our goal in compiling this index is to spur leaders in these nations to action," said Simon. "Many of these cases are solvable. The perpetrators have been identified but authorities lack the political will to prosecute."

CPJ released the index to coincide with a summit on impunity being held Tuesday and Wednesday in New York.

The index calculates the number of unsolved journalist killings as a percentage of the country's population. Only nations with five or more unsolved cases were included.

CPJ includes only those killings that are considered to have been deliberate attacks against specific journalists in relation to their work.

It does not tally cases of journalists killed in combat or while carrying out other dangerous assignments.

"The only thing you can say about it is that the murder of journalists gets worse and worse, and the problem is that governments around the world are not interested in finding the perpetrators," said Stuart H. Loory, editor of the magazine Global Journalist and the Lee Hills Chair in Free-Press Studies at the Missouri School of Journalism. "Too often they blame journalists for acting out of line."


Link: http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/04/20/journalists.killed/

Philippines presidential candidates must agree to protect journalists: IFJ

MANILA, Philippines - The International Federation of Journalists has called on all the candidates running for the presidency in the Philippines to make a public commitment to overturn the country's culture of impunity for the killing of journalists.

The call comes as the Philippines government announced it would drop charges of multiple murder against Zaldy and Akmad Ampatuan, both of whom were arrested after the massacre of 57 people, including 32 members of the media, last November.

The IFJ, in company with other press watchdogs and many Filipino journalists, believes the decision - made by the Philippines' acting justice secretary, Alberto Agra - suggests political interference in the judicial process.

The Ampatuan family is known for its support of the government of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, and for involvement in voting irregularities that benefited Arroyo in previous elections.

The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines said in a statement: "It is not for us to proclaim the innocence or guilt of either Ampatuan... But neither is it for Agra to do so. Not after the charges have been formally filed in court. Not after the judge has issued a commitment order against them."

Filipino journalists, Spanish priest hold rally, protest order clearing 2 in Maguindanao massacre

Members of the Zamboanga Press Club and National Union of Journalists of the Philippines and Peace Advocates Zamboanga headed by Spanish priest Angel Calvo hold a rally in Zamboanga City in Mindanao Island on Monday, April 19, 2010 protesting the decision of Justice Secretary Alberto Agra dropping all murder charges against jailed governor Zaldy Ampatuan, of the five-province Muslim autonomous region; and his uncle Akmad Ampatuan, the deputy governor of Maguindanao province, in connection to the brutal slayings of 57 people on November 23, 2009. The two are among over a hundred people, including the clan’s patriarch Andal Ampatuan Sr, accused in the massacre in Maguindanao. The Ampatuans are strong political allies of President Gloria Arroyo, who was also accused of poll fraud and cheating in the 2007 elections. (Mindanao Examiner Photo Service)

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / April 19, 2010) – Local journalists and peace advocates held a rally on Monday in Zamboanga City to protest Manila’s decision to drop all murder charges against the scion of a powerful political clan accused of brutally killing at least 57 people last year in Mindanao.

Members of the Zamboanga Press and National Union of Journalists of the Philippines and Peace Advocates Zamboanga headed by Spanish priest Angel Calvo lighted black candles and read a statement condemning the decision of Justice Secretary Alberto Agra in dropping all murder charges against jailed governor Zaldy Ampatuan, of the five-province Muslim autonomous region; and his uncle Akmad Ampatuan, the deputy governor of Maguindanao province, in connection to the brutal slayings of 57 people on November 23, 2009.

The suspended governor said he was in Manila with President Gloria Arroyo when the massacre occurred. The two are among over a hundred people, including the clan’s patriarch Andal Ampatuan Sr, accused in the massacre in Maguindanao. The Ampatuans are strong political allies of Arroyo, who was also accused of poll fraud and cheating in the 2007 elections.

Agra served as Arroyo’s lawyer during impeachment proceedings at the House of Representatives in 2006. He was one of Arroyo’s lawyers who represented the President in election-related issues in 2004. Arroyo also appointed Agra in 2007 as chief of the Office of the Government Corporate Counsel and this year as Justice Secretary.

In his decision, Agra said there was no evidence to link the two Ampatuan to the murder charges.

The Department of Justice earlier junked rebellion charges in connection with the Maguindanao massacre against the Ampatuans, who were on Friday had been flown to Manila and transferred to a tightly guarded prison in Taguig City where Andal Jr is locked up.

The young Ampatuan is accused of leading the killings of 57 people, including at least 32 journalists, who accompanied a political caravan of a rival clan, the Mangudadatus.

The caravan was traveling when it was stopped by gunmen in Shariff Aguak town and killed and buried its passengers in two mass graves in nearby town of Ampatuan. Among those killed were the wife and sister of Esmael Mangudadatu who is running for governor in next month’s polls.

Andal Jr denied all the charges against them and blamed Moro rebels for the massacre, an allegation strongly rejected by authorities.

“We, officers and members of the Zamboanga-Basilan-Sulu-Tawi-Tawi Chapter of the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines, strongly condemn and oppose this inane and unjust decision and order of the Justice Department. By readily swallowing the stinking alibis of the Ampatuans, the Department of Justice has made itself virtually a co-conspirator too of the Maguindanao Massacre, which is the worst human rights crime in the history of the nation and the administration of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo,” the NUJP said in a statement.

”A clear pattern to whitewash, as have feared from the start, the charges against the Ampatuans has emerged with the earlier dropping of rebellion charges against the suspects, and now this latest decision. As the whole world and nation know, the Ampatuans are the friends and lackeys of President Arroyo, who herself has been criticized frequently for having no respect for the rule of law. Hence, under this Government and its Administration officials, there is no justice for the Filipinos, particularly for the 57 victims of the Maguindanao Massacre and their families,” it added.

Journalists, who wore black shirts during the rally, also called on Agra to resign.

”We ask the Filipino people to rouse themselves from this oppressive condition and join the NUJP in nonetheless demanding justice for the Maguindanao victims, lest we will be the next victims too – as many have been without redress yet - of this system and culture of impunity and terrorism against innocent citizens or perceived enemies. We ask Acting Secretary Agra to rescind his scandalous order that brazenly co-opts the court and prematurely acquits the two Ampatuans. Save the good, but already badly tattered, name of the Department of Justice, or damn the rule of law and democracy in this land,” the media watchdog said.

Mangudadatu on Sunday said he would pursue the cases against the Ampatuan clan and said he has a witness who linked the jailed regional governor to the murders. “We have a witness that linked Zaldy Ampatuan to the killings. The witness was a former follower of the Ampatuan,” he said.

He said they would appeal Agra’s decision in court. “I cannot say what would come out from this until Agra is there. Agra is the lawyer of the Ampatuans in their election cases so we cannot give any direct statement or tell what would be the outcome of the cases,” Mangudadatu said.

Lawyer Harry Roque who represents the victims of the massacre said they would oppose Agra’s order clearing the two Ampatuans of all criminal charges against them. (Mindanao Examiner)