Justice For Maguindanao Massacre Victims; 11 Months Had Passed!

It is 11 months now since the Maguindanao massacre where at least 32 journalists were among 57 people brutally murdered.

CPJ meets Philippine officials, urges anti-impunity policies

MANILA, Philippines - Nine months after the killing of 32 journalists and media workers in the southern Philippines, a delegation from the Committee to Protect Journalists met today with justice officials in Manila and called on the government of President Benigno Aquino to address pervasive impunity in the recurring murders of journalists in the country.

"We see the response to these killings in Maguindanao as a way to raise the level of the criminal justice system for all people in the Philippines, not just journalists," said CPJ board member Sheila Coronel, a prominent Philippine journalist now at New York's Columbia University. "The Philippines' ranking of third worst in the world on CPJ's Impunity Index, behind Iraq and Somalia, is an indicator of a faltering justice system that is badly in need of repair."

CPJ's Impunity Index spotlights countries where journalists are murdered regularly and governments fail to solve the crimes. The index, compiled annually, measures unsolved journalist murders as a percentage of each country's population.

The CPJ delegation met at presidential offices in Malacañang Palace with Geronimo Sy, assistant secretary of the Department of Justice, and Richard Anthony Fadullon, assistant chief prosecutor in charge of the Maguindanao case. Along with Coronel, CPJ representatives included Asia Program Coordinator Bob Dietz, Impunity Campaign Coordinator María Salazar-Ferro, and Senior Southeast Asia Representative Shawn W. Crispin.

"We received a positive response from the officials at Malacañang today. We now hope that this adminstration's positive political will is translated into wise policies and appropriate actions," Dietz said.

The November 23, 2009, Maguindanao massacre was the deadliest event for the press since 1992, when CPJ began keeping detailed records on journalist deaths. Those journalists killed in Maguindanao were ambushed as they traveled with a convoy intending to file gubernatorial candidacy papers for local politician Esmael Mangudadatu. Most of the bodies were dumped in a mass hillside grave near the town of Ampatuan. Those accused in the killings are a part of a militia on one side of a long- running feud between two rival political clans competing for supremacy in the area.

The massacre, CPJ research shows, overshadowed the modest gains that Philippine authorities had made by winning recent convictions in two journalist murder cases. Last week, in an encouraging step, the judge hearing the Maguindanao case set a September 1 trial date for several defendants in the massacre, and promised to press ahead with the prosecution.

Since 1992, 66 journalists have been murdered in the Philippines. There have only been five convictions, CPJ research shows. CPJ continues to investigate the June killings of three journalists to determine whether they are work-related. (CPJ)


Link: http://cpj.org/2010/08/cpj-meets-philippine-officials-urges-anti-impunity.php

Justice For Maguindanao Massacre Victims; 8 Months Had Passed!

It is 8 months now since the Maguindanao massacre where at least 32 journalists were among 57 people brutally murdered. And journalists, Mass Communication students of Notre Dame of Kidapawan College and members of civic groups in Kidapawan City gather Friday, July 23, 2010 to remember and offer prayers for 32 journalists and media workers who were among 57 people brutally killed on November 23, 2009 in Maguindanao province. (Mindanao Examiner Photo – Geo and Giovanni Solmerano)

Justice For Maguindanao Massacre Victims; 7 Months Had Passed!

It is 7 months now since the Maguindanao massacre where at least 32 journalists were among 57 people brutally murdered.

Kidapawan journalists hold indignation rally; call for justice for 57 victims of Maguindanao massacre

Members of the National Union of Journalists and Mindanao Press Corps and other nongovernmental organizations hold a rally Friday, April 23, 2010 in Kidapawan City in Mindanao to protest the decision of the Department of Justice Secretary Alberto Agra who ordered the dropping of all murder charges against jailed Governor Zaldy Ampatuan, of the Muslim autonomous region, and his uncle Akmad Ampatuan, who were among more than 100 people accused in the brutal slayings of 57 people, including at least 32 journalists, on November 23 last year in Maguindanao province. (Mindanao Examiner Photo – Geo Solmerano)

Justice For Maguindanao Massacre Victims

Names of journalists who were brutally murdered in Ampatuan town in Maguindanao province on November 23, 2009.

Adolfo, Benjie - Gold Star Daily, Koronadal City
Araneta, Henry - dzRH, General Santos City
Arriola, McDelbert - UNTV, General Santos City
Bataluna, Rubello - Gold Star Daily, Koronadal City
Betia, Arturo - Periodico Ini, General Santos City
Cabillo, Romeo Jimmy - Midland Review, Tacurong City
Cablitas, Marites - News Focus / dxDX, General Santos City
Cachuela, Hannibal - Punto News, Koronadal City
Cadagdagon, Jepon - Saksi News, General Santos City.
Caniban, John - Periodico Ini, General Santos City
Dalmacio, Lea - Socsargen News, General Santos City
Decina, Noel - Periodico Ini, General Santos City
Dela Cruz, Gina - Saksi News, General Santos City
Duhay, Jhoy - Gold Star Daily, Tacurong City
Evardo, Jolito - UNTV General Santos City
Gatchalian, Santos - DXGO, Davao City
Legarte, Bienvenido, Jr. - Prontiera News, Koronadal City
Lupogan, Lindo - Mindanao Daily Gazette, Davao City
Maravilla, Ernesto - Bombo Radyo, Koronadal City
Merisco, Rey - Periodico Ini, Koronadal City
Montaño, Marife - Saksi News, General Santos City
Morales, Rosell - News Focus, General Santos City
Nuñez, Victor - UNTV, General Santos City
Perante, Ronnie - Gold Star Daily correspondent, Koronadal City
Parcon, Joel - Prontiera News, Koronadal City
Razon, Fernando - Periodico Ini, General Santos City
Reblando, Alejandro - Manila Bulletin, General Santos City
Salaysay, Napoleon - Mindanao Gazette, Cotabato City
Subang, Francisco - Socsargen Today, General Santos City
Teodoro, Andres - Central Mindanao Inquirer, Tacurong Cit
Tiamson, Daniel - UNTV, General Santos City
Reynaldo Momay - Midland Review, Tacurong City

Justice For Maguindanao Massacre Victims! Stop Killing Journalists!