“We can’t call him an animal because I have pets and they are tame. No, he is a monster. They are monsters,” Vice Mayor Toto Mangudadatu on the killers.
“Just because they’re in this situation doesn’t mean we will already turn our backs on them. It doesn’t mean that they are no longer our friends, if ever they indeed committed the crime,” Lorelei Fajardo, deputy presidential spokesperson, on the friendship between Mrs. Arroyo and the Ampatuans.
A backhoe bearing the markings of the provincial governor’s office stood idly by the freshly dug pits where at least 57 murder victims were dumped.
“A layer of bodies, then buried with soil, bodies again, and soil again…intended to make things difficult for us,” said the policeman in charge of recovering the cadavers.
This was not a spur-of-the-moment massacre. This was planned carnage, albeit with the sort of carelessness common among those accustomed to breaking laws with impunity.
According to the plan, the Mangundadato party was going to be stopped at a checkpoint, slaughtered, and buried along with their vehicles in two pre-excavated holes in the ground.
Did the monsters that planned the bloodbath not think someone might notice that a convoy on the way to the local Comelec office never reached its destination?
How were they going to explain the disappearance, were they going to say the convoy was abducted by aliens from outer space?
Mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr., principal suspect, came up with a story as fantastic as an alien abduction—MILF chieftain Umbra Kato did it!
So where did Umbra Kato get the authority to order policemen to man checkpoints and to kill political enemies of the Ampatuans? Who gave him permission to use a backhoe from the governor’s office to dig pits where the bodies of the victims would be hidden?
The principal suspect’s brother, ARMM Governor Zaldy Ampatuan, said he was with Gloria Arroyo at the time of the massacre. I would have loved to be a fly on the wall listening to Zaldy and Gloria discuss the horrific incident.
It might have helped me understand why Gloria directed her personal adviser on Mindanao affairs, Jesus Dureza, to talk to the Ampatuans first instead of immediately sending a battalion of soldiers and policemen to restore the rule of law.
Prior to the bloodbath, Gloria offered Vice Mayor Toto Mangungdadato several positions in her government to dissuade him from running for governor, a post her friends, the Ampatuans, considered their private property. Mangundadato did not bite.
And so a clan war loomed. But Gloria did not disarm the clans. She did not even replace the provincial military and police forces with units not associated with either clan.
The massacre showed that Gloria Arroyo lost control of the situation. She failed to govern and yet she feigns governance.
“I will be firmly in control of our national government until my last day in office. I will keep a steady hand on the tiller of the ship of state.”
She said that days after Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita admitted her government was inept.
“Too bad this thing had to happen. We don’t have full control of the situation on the ground, mortals as we are. Because we are only humans, we cannot stop these things from happening, but we will just do whatever is legally possible within human limits to be able to stop [them] and improve on our performance as a government and as a country.”
June 30, 2010. So near and yet so far away.
Popularity: 1% [?]
OFF TOPIC BUT I THINK IS RELEVANT.
Could it be possible, as a political move, GMA will resign before the campaign period to give a semblance of delicadeza and to detract the criticism against her? Any. she is a sure winner in Pampanga.
Then the Cha-cha train will be on track.
It is very hard to to think that there is no “master plan” with what GMA and her allies are doing?
Consider that GMA never pushed to have Noli as candidate. Part of the Plan?
etec, etc? You can extend the scenario. But remember, what is happening today is just a scenario a few months ago, which bright boys here considered as laughable ideas.
GMA is a different animal. When she orchestrated the Hello Garci operation, people espcailly the “move On” crowd should have seen it.
Wala sana silang problema ngayon. Eh pinabayaan nyo, buti nga sa inyo.
GMA na din ako. Rah. rah, rah.
Ms. Arroyo bears all the markings of a leader whose power has led to a form of egotistical lunacy, rather like Napoleon or Hitler, believing their view of the world is God’s. They don’t have to justify anything to anyone, can act with near impunity, and have zero compassion for those “in the way”. She will wait out the public’s rage, then continue to give and get favors.
Joe
oooowwwwssssss!!!!!
GMA is not doing a coup d’etat, is she? If the citizenry do not approve, then the voters of Pampanga’s second district will be able to make happen: GMA — TALSIK DIYAN!!
Makati- or QuezonCity-residents who want to see GMA retire to Spain after May2010 can cast their vote against GMA in the Pampanga elections.
Joe,
I agree with everything except the WAIT OUT part. She will keep on going and going behind even the scene just like the the Energizer bunny.
It is a very sad part of our nation’s history. Such crimes that were
acceptable in Saddam Hussein’s Iraq. Has now taken place in this
land of ours. Because of Political patronage of a Provincial Warlord
who helped win Gloria Arroyo in the last election. We are all Filipinos: Christians, Muslims, MNLF, MILF, NPA’s, etc…We sympathize with our fellow countrymen. When this kind of tragedy happens.
This is a wake up call for us to remove WARLORDS and Political Dynasties in our political system.
The crime of Specific Intent such as in this case.. Conspiracy. To be found guilty , the defendant deliberately acted for the PURPOSE of committing the specific crime. Modernly crimes may be charged for criminal negligence or recklessness when the defendant deliberately created extreme risks to others or breached a DUTY to protect others from extreme risks… The judge does not have to prove that there was an intent to cause injury ( murder) that resulted.
backhoe on the crime scene, the soil topography prior to the crime and the check point along the way…. these are Regulatory VIOLATIONS which falls to STRICT Liability Crime. Mistakes of FACT are never a defense. When the crime is a breached of REGULATORY nature… the Ampatuans must be automatically suspended without further explanation and BS to poor Mang Juan and Pedro.
The Governor and the other Ampatuans can be vicariously liable for the criminal acts of his/her officers, employees and its township leader ( co-conspirator) EVEN if they were not present and knew nothing of those crimes…
The rule of law must be strengthened in this country. Are we going to just blog about it and do nothing… What’s the next step to rock this country forward?
“Who gave him (kato) permission to use a backhoe…
thanks said backhoe was not made in Japan so it does not bear the company name “KATO.” so the prime suspect can not insist on his out-of-this-world allegation.
I don’t think ineptitude is the one at fault. Ineptitude is something that is accidental or not intended and is somewhat having innocence in a mistake. This case is more than that.