MAGUINDANAO – Fourteen years after the horrifying events of November 23, 2009, justice for the victims of the Ampatuan Massacre remains elusive, according to a statement released by the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) on its 14th anniversarty.
“Despite 14 years passing since the train events of November 23, 2009, the killers of journalists remain at large and justice continues to be denied,” said the international federation of journalists.
The National Press Club (NPC) echoed this sentiment on Thursday, urging government authorities to intensify efforts in apprehending the remaining suspects involved in the massacre, which claimed the lives of 58 people, including 32 media workers, in Maguindanao.
Lydia Bueno, the president of the NPC, said that despite the conviction of 44 suspects, approximately 83 perpetrators have yet to be brought to justice.
“We can only say that justice has been served if all perpetrators of the gruesome crime are already in jail,” Bueno stated on the 14th commemoration of the Ampatuan massacre.
In December 2019, a decade after the horrendous mass killing, a Quezon City Regional Trial Court convicted key figures, including Datu Andal Ampatuan Jr., his brothers Andal Ampatuan Jr. and Zaldy Ampatuan, along with 24 others, on 57 counts of murder. The three brothers received the maximum sentence of life imprisonment without parole.
The IFJ noted that, to date, only 44 out of 200 massacre suspects have been successfully convicted.
Despite the improvement in the Philippines’ ranking to 132nd out of 180 in the World Press Freedom Index, Reporters Without Borders emphasized that it remains one of the most dangerous countries for journalists. In 2022, the country was ranked 147th.
On the human rights front, Karapatan Secretary General Cristina Palabay pointed out that threats, killings, and attacks against media practitioners, rights advocates, artists, and academics persist, making the situation even worse.
The recent killing of radio journalist Juan Jumalon in Misamis Occidental and the 2022 murder of broadcaster Percival “Percy Lapid” Mabasa in Las Piñas underscore the continuing dangers faced by journalists in the Philippines.
Palabay attributed the worsening restrictions on press freedom and freedom of expression to the Anti-Terrorism Law and the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict. These measures, known for red-tagging progressive groups and individuals, contribute to an atmosphere of fear and impunity.
