The Maguindanao Massacre: Articles, Timeline, Continuing Coverage

Comments

1. Hyden Toro says:
   November 28, 2009 at 1:39 am

   There is disturbing similarities. Between the Regime of Saddam Hussein of Iraq. And the Political ruling families of
   Maguindanao. Saddam Hussein mass murdered and buried his enemies
   in mass graves. His son Udday, used rape on women as terror weapon.
   Saddam Hussein had two sons, who helped him in the murders. Iraq was ruled for years by the Hussein family. All political opponents were tortured, murdered and buried in mass graves.

   The FOCUS of the world is on us. The Presidential Candidates. And all candidates for national office. Should awaken and address this issue of Political families, WARLORDS/(DATUISM). Who are political dynasties. DATUISM is not only in the Muslim regions. They are also in the Christian regions and other regions of our country.

   Reply
   • Hyden Toro says:
     November 28, 2009 at 5:07 am

     Remember that Saddam Hussein built many expensive and magnificient Palaces also. Amidst the suffering Iraqui
     people. They were suffering from the UN sactions imposed
     on Iraq. Saddam Hussein lived in lavish style. While his
     people lived in miserable and starving conditions.

     We hope that Allah did only an incidental mistake. When he
     created these Mass Murderers.

     Reply
2. leytenian says:
   November 28, 2009 at 6:19 am

   I am not in favor of the Mangadadatu’s application for candidacy AFTER the FACT. He is another warlord. His decision BEFORE the fact may personally contribute to a post traumatic syndrome from loss of family lives. A CAN BE “illness” after the fact that may also affect his skills and decision making of becoming a leader regardless of his previous good moral character. My opinion may not be true but in psychology, there can be a connection. In my view, we need a new leader in the province of Maguindanao but I’m not so sure how peace can be promoted if the people cannot rely SECURITY from a very weak State with a WEAK AFP/PNP leadership. God Bless…

   The SR. Ampatuan must also be suspended and should not be allowed to run again.

   I have not quiet moved on yet.

   Reply
   • Joe America says:
     November 28, 2009 at 7:21 am

     If he does not file for candidacy, the intimidators win again. You need some kind of strength to assume the governorship in this threatening environment. My opinion, he is correct to file.

     Joe

     Reply
     • leytenian says:
       November 28, 2009 at 12:07 pm

       ok Joe…
     • mario taporco says:
       November 28, 2009 at 4:35 pm

       joe,

       I’m kinda weighing it you side also.
       But also, you have to be a moron if you blame this on the Americans.
       I could see that smirk on your face joe. Hehehehehe
   • allan says:
     November 28, 2009 at 10:04 am

     You got a point leytenian. Lakas-kampi and Gibo is riding the Maguindanao massacre to metamorphose themselves and hoodwinked us by ousting first the Ampatuans from the party to show that they are against murderers/rapists and it wants change by adopting the mangundadatus as their candidate for governor in maguindanao. On the other hand, malacanang palace and GMA is saying that it will not sever its ties with the Ampatuans (read: heavily indebted). They arrested Ampatuan Jr. to appease the anger of the people and to show that the government is running after the alleged leader of the massacre. If we analyze all these actions and pronouncements of Lakas-kampi, Gibo Teodoro, GMA and Malacanang functionaries on the issue and their purported resolution of Maguindanao Massacre, its all MASQUERADE as May 2010 election is coming and they try to lessen the backlash from the electorate. Or, if the ampatuans are out of the picture in Lakas-kampi, are they going to use the mangundadatus to rig the May 2010 election in the ARMM areas to their favor – a never ending cycle of warlordism?

     Reply
     • leytenian says:
       November 28, 2009 at 10:57 pm

       allan,

       here’s what I said over a Manolo’s Blog:

       The murder in Maguindanao was a clear consequence when central authority has either losses its power or has weakened. Warlords will compete for power through violence or intimidation. He will continue to seek popular allegiance on the basis of the fear and insecurity generated by the absence of reliable central authorities. The Ampatuan’s clan can therefore act independently if not put to jail. He can change party at any given time to benefit only his own. He cannot be loyal but will play the game of big business. He is also not interested to fix the bigger problem of a weak State but will instead take advantage of it. There’s not much difference between elitism and warlordism except intense violence. Both are burden to our nation’s health.

       It doesn’t matter who will become president, warlords are NOT dependent from Central authority.

       Then I said further at Manolo.
       

       The lack of national and effective military governance leaves the provinces outside of central control, with warlords filling the vacuum. Regional actors question the government’s capacity to provide basic public goods and undermine its authority by controlling alternative resources through a variety of mechanisms, including fraudulent collection of votes and promising its local people a future without a foundation. Consequently, the bewildered local people does not know what to believe. WITH THIS POWER, the local warlord can easily negotiate a weak administration. It can do whatever including at the end… blackmailing the weak president but EVENTUALLY will destroy his own.

       THE AMPATUANS is done but it doesn’t mean that the replacement is RELIABLE. Warlords are all the same with little variation on how to take advantage of a weak system.

       So here’s the FACT: In July 2006, however, the Arroyo administration issued Executive Order 546, allowing local officials and the PNP to deputize barangay tanods as ‘force multipliers’ in the fight against insurgents. In practice, the EO allows local officials to convert their private armed groups into legal entities with a fancy name: civilian volunteer organizations (CVO).

       The Mangandadatu will also get the same benefit. Knowing how Governors and Congressmen of this country abuse its power not only in Maguinadanao, am not sure if GIBO or NOYNOY can do much unless the next president will start removing and replacing old school politics.
3. tranquil says:
   November 28, 2009 at 9:46 am

   Randy David has this to say :

   When the national leadership is strong and rests on a clear popular mandate, it is in a better position to dismantle the anachronistic local power centers that operate side by side state institutions. It need not tolerate, or worse accommodate, the existence of parallel sultanates and their abusive armies. But where we have an insecure leadership that colludes with a broad range of non-accountable forces to keep itself in power, it is the modern state that withers away.

   We have indeed paid a high price for allowing an illegitimate president to take charge of the state.

   http://opinion.inquirer.net/inquireropinion/columns/view/20091127-238822/Warlords-in-a-weak-state

   Reply
   • leytenian says:
     November 28, 2009 at 12:09 pm

     good one tranquil…. thanks for the link. I can’t disagree

     Reply
     • tranquil says:
       November 28, 2009 at 7:45 pm

       Blood has directly splattered on Gloria’s hands.
   • BrianB says:
     November 28, 2009 at 5:30 pm

     This has been so obvious for 5 years. Feeling ko talaga ang bobobo ng mga move on crowd. They had been too stupid for me to feel vindicated now.

     Reply
   • Hyden Toro says:
     November 30, 2009 at 7:34 am

     The Muslim leaders of Mindanao do not want PEACE in the
     area. They cannot control people to do their will. If there
     is peace. So, they use Religion, private armies, terrorism,
     Al Quedas, Warlords/Datuism to push their own political and private agendas. Same way as Marcos used the
     NPA/communist threat to stay in power during Martial Law.

     National politicians and political parties that have their
     patronage. Use these leaders to gather CAPTIVE VOTES during
     elections. You can see now the vicious connecting dots of the
     events of the Maguindanao Massacre.

     You can see the evidence. These Muslim leaders live in Mansions. While the rest of people in their Provincial Fiefdoms live in shanties.

     Reply
4. Bitnik52 says:
   November 29, 2009 at 1:04 am

   and GMA has no guts to resign…Seems power makes one indifferent…GIBO is playing the same game- Warlordism…just another bunch of wackos…

   Reply
5. Chito Cuna says:
   November 29, 2009 at 2:05 pm

   The Maguindanao “Back Hoe” Massacre will go down in the history of mankind as one of the worst politically-related crimes. What makes the crime beyond comprehension is the meticulous preparation that went it with it, the brutal and beastly execution of the plan, and the feeling of impunity that went after the crime was committed. This was no ordinary crime, this was an act of terrorism as the intent was to undermine the countryʼs political and democratic process by preventing the exercise of an electoral procedure, an exercise that is the underpinning of our basic democratic right to elect our own leaders. The crime is not just against the persons. The crime is against the country, and against every living soul that this country is supposed to uphold and protect.

   In our long history as a group of islands that were eventually grouped as a “nation” now called the Philippines, we have never experienced this kind of barbarity. And yet, one finds that if there has to be a place in our country that such a heinous act of terrorism can be committed, it has to be in Mindanao. It will be interesting to find out how all these started. It will be interesting to find out who are responsible. It is my proposition that the Aquino Family — Ninoy and Cory — is responsible, in a major way, for the conflict in Mindanao, and more directly, the rise of the Ampatuans to power.

   Reply
   • tranquil says:
     November 29, 2009 at 5:21 pm

     It is my proposition that the Aquino Family — Ninoy and Cory — is responsible, in a major way, for the conflict in Mindanao, and more directly, the rise of the Ampatuans to power.

     You are making a declarative statement without making an attempt to back it up with supporting sentences. I could just as easily say it was Lakandula Dimasalang who was responsible, in a major way, for the conflict in Mindanao, etc…

     You are just trolling.

     Reply
     • Chito says:
       November 30, 2009 at 3:57 pm

       One has to go back in history. A hundred years ago, today, General John J. Pershing became the Governor of Mindanao. For some this was the start of the total obliteration of the rights of the Moro people. It was during this time that governance from Manila was strengthened, an educational system was established with an curriculum inconsistent with the realities of history and Mindanao culture then, and the torrens titling system was introduced to formally take the ancestral lands of the Moro people and lumads of Mindanao.

       From the perspective of the struggle, The struggle of the Moro people for self- determination dates back to 1565. In its website, the Institute for Autonomy and Governance (IAG) proposes that the struggle “is not an isolated cry of religious community seeking accommodation within the framework of the Philippine society”. The struggle, from the beginning, encompassed economic and cultural issues that up to today, have not been addressed properly.

       The current armed conflict, however, originated among a small number of students and intellectuals in the late 1960s, many of them coming from non-elite Muslim families. Reuben Canoy has a long story of how a personal feud between the son of Governor Udtog Matalam and a National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) agent. In his book on Mindanao independence, Canoy reounted how after an altercation in a bar, the NBI agent went to get his weapon and shot the son of Governor Matalam. From his perspective, this was the equivalence of incident in Sosiego and Silencio Streets in Sta. Mesa, Manila, when Private Grayson shot a group of Filipinos that marked the start of the Philippine American War.

       Poetic as it sounds, the start of the armed conflict must have been more than just the brutal killing of Matalamʼs son. It must have been a conflagration of many forces, some dating back to 1565. To many historians, nothing as seemed more incendiary as the Jabidah Massacre, or more to the point, the exposure of the Jabidah Massacre.

       The events leading to this event in March 1968 had to do with an attempt of the Philippine Government to reclaim Sabah from the Malaysians.For those who do not know, the Sultan of Borneo had given Sabah to the Sultan of Jolo as a gift for helping quell a rebellion in Borneo. In 1878, around the time the British took over Malaysia, the Sultan of Jolo entered into an agreement with Baron von Overbeck and Alfred Dent. This agreement was subsequently assigned to the North Borneo Company.

       In mid-1962, then President Diosdado Macapagal made an official request from the British Government to return the resources-rich Sabah to the Philippines based on the premise that the Sultan of Sulu had merely “leased” the property to the British. The British refused and insisted that the agreement with von Overbeack was a “purchase” rather than a “lease.” There was a controversy on the use of the term “padjak” which was incorporated in the original document. Apparently the term meant both “lease” and “purchase” in the Malay language. At this point, the new Malaysian Government considered the issue as something between the British and the Philippines.

       As an aside, this whole issue of Sabah saw the Philippines being shabbily treated by the british and subsequently the United States. In their recognition of Malaysia in September 1963, neither Kennedy nor Johnson pressed the British in recognizing what was, and may still be, a clear legal case for the Philippines. There is a whole literature on this matter, but a good source is H. B. Jacobini (Asia Survey, Volume 4, No. 11, November 1964), who concluded that the behavior of the British towards the Philippines (at one time delaying the issue of visas for an official meeting in Malaysia) was bordering on insult and the treatment not only of the US government but also the US press was, at best, very shabby.
       Failing the diplomatic approach to reclaim Sabah, the Philippine government under President Marcos decided to launch in 1967 a clandestine military operation using Moro recruits. Seeing that the world was at best, indifferent to the claims of the Philippines, and at worst, antagonistic, it is believed that the Philippine leadership at that time was left without no choice but to uphold its sovereignty. And given that the Malaysian Government was still new at that time, the Philippine Government must have felt it had sufficient military strength to take back Sabah.

       Code named “Operation Merdika,” 180 trainees were brought to Simunul island in Tawi- tawi. The commando unit was named: “Jabidah.” They were then transferred to Corridor where the training continued but under worsening pay and food conditions for the trainees. Under these conditions and upon learning of their ultimate objective, that of possibly killing their fellow Moslems some of whom were their relatives, around 60 trainees mutinied.

       This led to the “Jabidah Massacre” perpetrated by the trainers and officers of these trainees.
       It would have been left at that — as a failed clandestine operation of the Philippine government.
       The Jabidah Massacre, however, became the turning point of the Moro peopleʼs struggle in Mindanao because of how the Philippine government handled the situation. Being a top secret security project, it was incumbent upon all government officials to treat any information on the project with extreme caution as it involved the highest national interest.

       Instead, a young Senator of the Republic, Sen. Ninoy Aquino, Jr., exposed the top-secret national security project on the Senate floor, creating big headlines, exposing lives of
       individuals to harm, and raising the possibility of a direct and open armed conflict with Malaysia.

       This opened the floodgates to the current armed conflict…
     • ChitoC says:
       December 2, 2009 at 7:59 pm

       One has to go back in history. A hundred years ago, today, General John J. Pershing became the Governor of Mindanao. For some this was the start of the total obliteration of the rights of the Moro people. It was during this time that governance from Manila was strengthened, an educational system was established with an curriculum inconsistent with the realities of history and Mindanao culture then, and the torrens titling system was introduced to formally take the ancestral lands of the Moro people and lumads of Mindanao.

       From the perspective of the struggle, The struggle of the Moro people for self-determination dates back to 1565. In its website, the Institute for Autonomy and Governance (IAG) proposes that the struggle “is not an isolated cry of religious community seeking accommodation within the framework of the Philippine society”. The struggle, from the beginning, encompassed economic and cultural issues that up to today, have not been addressed properly.

       The current armed conflict, however, originated among a small number of students and intellectuals in the late 1960s, many of them coming from non-elite Muslim families. Reuben Canoy has a long story of how a personal feud between the son of Governor Udtog Matalam and a National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) agent. In his book on Mindanao independence, Canoy reounted how after an altercation in a bar, the NBI agent went to get his weapon and shot the son of Governor Matalam. From his perspective, this was the equivalence of incident in Sosiego and Silencio Streets in Sta. Mesa, Manila, when Private Grayson shot a group of Filipinos that marked the start of the Philippine American War.

       Poetic as it sounds, the start of the armed conflict must have been more than just the brutal killing of Matalam’s son. It must have been a conflagration of many forces, some dating back to 1565. To many historians, nothing as seemed more incendiary as the Jabidah Massacre, or more to the point, the exposure of the Jabidah Massacre.

       The events leading to this event in March 1968 had to do with an attempt of the Philippine Government to reclaim Sabah from the Malaysians.For those who do not know, the Sultan of Borneo had given Sabah to the Sultan of Jolo as a gift for helping quell a rebellion in Borneo. In 1878, around the time the British took over Malaysia, the Sultan of Jolo entered into an agreement with Baron von Overbeck and Alfred Dent. This agreement was subsequently assigned to the North Borneo Company.

       In mid-1962, then President Diosdado Macapagal made an official request from the British Government to return the resources-rich Sabah to the Philippines based on the premise that the Sultan of Sulu had merely “leased” the property to the British. The British refused and insisted that the agreement with von Overbeack was a “purchase” rather than a “lease.” There was a controversy on the use of the term “padjak” which was incorporated in the original document. Apparently the term meant both “lease” and “purchase” in the Malay language. At this point, the new Malaysian Government considered the issue as something between the British and the Philippines.

       As an aside, this whole issue of Sabah saw the Philippines being shabbily treated by the British and subsequently the United States. In their recognition of Malaysia in September 1963, neither Kennedy nor Johnson pressed the British in recognizing what was, and may still be, a clear legal case for the Philippines. There is a whole literature on this matter, but a good source is H. B. Jacobini (Asia Survey, Volume 4, No. 11, November 1964), who concluded that the behavior of the British towards the Philippines (at one time delaying the issue of visas for an official meeting in Malaysia) was bordering on insult and the treatment not only of the US government but also the US press was, at best, very shabby.

       Failing the diplomatic approach to reclaim Sabah, the Philippine government under President Marcos decided to launch in 1967 a clandestine military operation using Moro recruits. Seeing that the world was at best, indifferent to the claims of the Philippines, and at worst, antagonistic, it is believed that the Philippine leadership at that time was left without no choice but to uphold its sovereignty. And given that the Malaysian Government was still new at that time, the Philippine Government must have felt it had sufficient military strength to take back Sabah.

       Code named “Operation Merdika,” 180 trainees were brought to Simunul island in Tawi-tawi. The commando unit was named: “Jabidah.” They were then transferred to Corridor where the training continued but under worsening pay and food conditions for the trainees. Under these conditions and upon learning of their ultimate objective, that of possibly killing their fellow Moslems some of whom were their relatives, around 60 trainees mutinied. This led to the “Jabidah Massacre” perpetrated by the trainers and officers of these trainees.

       It would have been left at that — as a failed clandestine operation of the Philippine government.

       The Jabidah Massacre, however, became the turning point of the Moro people’s struggle in Mindanao because of how the Philippine government handled the situation. Being a top secret security project, it was incumbent upon all government officials to treat any information on the project with extreme caution as it involved the highest national interest.

       Instead, a young Senator of the Republic, Sen. Ninoy Aquino, Jr., exposed the top-secret national security project on the Senate floor, creating big headlines, exposing lives of individuals to harm, and raising the possibility of a direct and open armed conflict with Malaysia.

       Already reeling from the Matalam debacle, the Jabidah Massacre exposé simply broke the dam of Moro discontent and led to the start of the modern-day armed conflict. Beginning in the early 1970s, the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) began the war in Mindanao and although several peace attempts have been made, that war continues to today, a war that gave a reason to the government to the Ampatuans power in Maguindanao.

       Did Aquino ever think his irresponsible behavior 40 years ago will have such debilitating and horrific impact in the 21st century?

       Today, his son, Noynoy Aquino, is calling for the suspension of the Ampatuans and decrying the “inaction” of the government. He probably does not realize that the problem of Mindanao was contributed in no small part by his father, Ninoy Aquino. And as if this was not enough, his mother, Cory Aquino, exacerbated the problem by APPOINTING ANDAL AMPATUAN, SR. Mayor of the town that is now called Shariff Aguak.

       Ninoy Aquino opened the floodgates of the Mindanao conflict by recklessly exposing a national security operation, one that would have upheld our sovereignty in our own land. Cory deepened the wounds of the Mindanao conflict by allowing the perpetration of private armies in her Cory institution and providing Andal Ampatuan Sr with a career path that led to the Maguindanao Massacre.

       So NO, I am not trolling.
     • Joe America says:
       December 3, 2009 at 9:12 am

       ChitoC,

       I dunno, Chito. When 60 people are killed in a blown secret security mission, it is hardly seems a proper “morality” to sweep the bodies under the dirt. It was not Ninoy Aquino who blew the mission, but those who miscalculated the risks in setting it up. Those making the decision need to accept responsibility for ALL problems, even that of a whistle-blower with a different perspective on what is patriotic. Seems to me, had they better understood and respected Muslim loyalties to their faith, they would never have gone down the unfortunate path they took. That is not Mr. Aquino’s doing.

       To then lay blames on Cory Aquino or Noynoy Aquino years later is again pasting responsibility where it does not belong.

       I have an issue with this because I think many upstanding Filipinos are very good at deflecting responsibility by tossing blames about. Like saying the VFA is the reason for mistreatment of women in the Philippines, when poverty is the real issue, and behind that is inept government . . .

       The rest of your message is informative, but I would say US treatment of the Philippines was worse than “shabby” around the turn of the century. But that was back in the days before US “racial enlightenment”. Today the US is respectful, and one ought not . . . again . . . paste blames on those who are TODAY not responsible for prior bad behavior.

       You can’t repair history by blaming descendants, and you are unfair to people who have their own records – good or bad – that you can properly deal with.

       Joe
   • Hyden Toro says:
     November 30, 2009 at 3:09 am

     It is a vicious cycle of Political Patronage by National
     Politicians. Candidates for national political offices flock to these people to get CAPTIVE Provincial Votes during election. Same way they flock to the Iglesia Ni Kristo Leader to get CAPTIVE Church votes.

     Now they created mass murderers. And a Church that profits
     during Elections. You can see the stupidity of our national
     leaders. And, it goes on and on for years…

     THE END REALLY JUSTIFIES THE MEANS TO WIN IN ELECTIONS!

     Reply
6. Bitnik52 says:
   November 30, 2009 at 1:17 am

   From R.J. Farolan..its the small details that at times escape the public eye…

   WHILE administration mouthpieces go about the business of condemning the Maguindanao massacre and vowing to bring the perpetrators to justice, it’s the small details that at times escape the public eye that throw a different light on how the government is dealing with the problem.

   Remember the Peninsula Hotel siege in November 2007 when Sen. Antonio Trillanes and Brig. Gen. Danilo Lim marched from their hearings in a Makati court to the Peninsula? When the siege ended with an armored personnel carrier forcing its way through the hotel lobby, many newsmen and other individuals were herded into a bus with their wrists tied with rope or plastic strips used for prisoners. One memorable picture from this incident was that of men raising their bound hands up in the air so that people could see what they were going through. No one was killed or injured but for some reason, they were considered dangerous to the community at large and had to be tied up like criminals.

   Remember Paco Larrañaga, the Spanish killer-rapist who recently was flown out of the country under the provisions of a treaty specially designed for him by the administration? The “Treaty of Sentenced Persons between the Republic of the Philippines and the Kingdom of Spain” was ostensibly fashioned to allow Spanish and Filipino convicts to serve their sentences in their home country. Larrañaga was convicted of homicide and rape by the Supreme Court. His victims were the two sisters Marijoy and Jacqueline Chiong, who were abducted and repeatedly raped by gang members. Incidentally, almost two months after Larrañaga’s return to Spain, we haven’t heard of any Filipino convict being repatriated to the Philippines. Larrañaga could turn out to be the only beneficiary of this treaty.

   But the point I wish to make is when Larrañaga was brought to the airport and handed over to Spanish agents, he was not handcuffed and neither did we insist that he be handcuffed during the flight to Spain even though considering his background he posed a potential danger to fellow passengers. As I mentioned in an earlier column, when FBI agents picked up Mark Jimenez for trial in the United States, he was handcuffed to his seat all the way to a Florida jail.

   In Korea, accused individuals including business tycoons, and even former presidents, are handcuffed not because there is a possibility of flight but because the spectacle serves as a highly visible and powerful symbol of a justice system that makes no distinction between friend or foe, rich or poor, the weak or the powerful.

   The alleged mastermind of the Maguindanao massacre is now detained at the NBI detention center. During a Malacañang press conference, one reporter noted that he was never handcuffed by the authorities although pictures of him behind bars appeared after international and nationwide outrage and condemnation over the massacre broke out.

   Let me repeat what I said earlier. It’s the small details that provide a more accurate and vivid picture of how an administration handles a particular problem. For perceived enemies of the State, it is straight to Bicutan with handcuffs or bound wrists; for friends of the administration, kid gloves with a polite invitation coursed through emissaries to please surrender.

   Just in case the reader is interested, in the May 2004 presidential elections the province of Maguindanao gave Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo some 194,000 votes as against almost 60,000 for Fernando Poe Jr. The Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) headed by the Ampatuans also delivered similar results. In the 2007 senatorial elections, Maguindanao delivered a shutout in favor of “Team Unity” of the Lakas administration party. The score was 12-0 with Gov. Chavit Singson topping the list and Rep. Miguel Zubiri placing number 12. Political scientists say this is statistically improbable. Manny Pacquiao was once quoted as saying, “Hindi ako bobo!” Many of us would also like to use his words, “Hindi kami bobo.”

   That’s not all. On a nationwide basis the party-list system got only 35 percent of the vote but in Maguindanao it was 99 percent. Some party-list candidates who rode on this wave of manufactured votes now occupy seats in Congress.

   This early, the system is already getting a bad reputation.

   The delivery of command votes for the Arroyo administration in the two previous elections resulted in total control of the province for the Ampatuan clan, a by-product of benign neglect from an administration grateful for the fantastic showing at the polls. The all-important security forces virtually became a private army of the ruling family. In this environment, a culture of impunity, one which brooked no opposition, took hold. The massacre was only a matter of time. President Arroyo cannot escape responsibility for the tragedy considering the well-known coddling of warlords by her administration. The Maguindanao massacre will remain part of her legacy.

   What a pity! After the glorious victory of Manny Pacquiao in Las Vegas and Efren Peñaflorida’s winning the CNN “Hero of the Year” Award, the world was treated to the spectacle of Filipino barbarians murdering innocent men and women pulling down the nation to the same level as Darfur, Rwanda and Srebrenica.

   While watching the CNN Hero program and feeling so good and proud about Peñaflorida’s victory and his simple but moving speech of acceptance, I was jolted back to reality when CNN announced an update on the Philippine massacre. The clip that followed showed the killing fields of Maguindanao being dug up by heavy equipment with bodies scattered all over the place.

   Reply
7. Leytenian says:
   November 30, 2009 at 5:50 am

   The previous and current administration can be COntributory but the Ampatuans can be the PROXIMATE cause for the murder of innocent civilians.

   Reply
   • Leytenian says:
     November 30, 2009 at 5:52 am

     Grammar check? ” can be” ? No.. Are the proximate cause?????

     Reply
     • Hyden Toro says:
       November 30, 2009 at 7:14 am

       Dont worry about grammars. We will understand what you mean. Write what you feel…
8. Pinoy Atheist says:
   December 2, 2009 at 4:16 pm

   Instead of doing something about this…PGMA went to the COMELEC on her bid for being a representative of her district…TOUGH LUCK.

   Reply
9. ChitoC says:
   December 4, 2009 at 12:34 pm

   Joe:

   I guess you’re right. I am stretching the blame a bit too far back.

   What gets my goat, however, is that I am convinced Ninoy Aquino did that purely to advance his own political brownie points. Ninoy was no saint. He was no stranger to to clandestine military operation. In fact, he was right in the middle of what even the CIA itself called as the “”one of the worst mass murders of the twentieth century” ( (US CIA Research Study: Indonesia — The Coup That Backfired, 1968, page 71).

   In a book entitled “Subversion as Foreign Policy — The Secret Eisenhower and Dulles Debacle in Indonesia” (Kahin and Kahin, University Washington Press, 1995), the participation of the Philippines in the Indonesian rebellion was led by Ninoy Aquino. Not only was he the paymaster for the funds coursed through President Garcia’s office, Ninoy Aquino opened up Hacienda Luisita as the training camp for the Indonesian rebels. In the book, Ninoy even recalles, “We even set up an elaborate radio network so the rebels could contact their people.” The book cited Ninoy Aquino as the person responsible for transport and trade of arms from Taiwan to Sulawesi.

   So Ninoy knew the importance of secrecy in clandestine military operations. And he was no stranger to subversion — he operated in a rebellion that had nothing to do with the Philippines — it was primarily a United States concern. The Jabidah incident, on the other hand, albeit it had an unfortunate outcome, had a loftier objective: that of acquiring back land lost from Philippine sovereignty.

   And yet Ninoy Aquino chose to act irresponsibly, projecting a clean image trying to expose the evils of the government. That to me is totally unacceptable. Had Ninoy been completely innocent — he did not participate in similar operations — I probably could forgive him for his stupidity and lack of understanding. But, he knew the purpose and the consequences of the exposure!

   In my book, therefore, anyone who uses his ancestors as the basis for people to believe in him would have the same effect as blaming the descendants for the behavior of the person living today.

   So I guess Joe, some of our leaders should be reading your piece of advice.

   Reply
   • Joe America says:
     December 4, 2009 at 8:26 pm

     Chito,

     Good point, that penultimate paragraph. Can’t cut it both ways. And, actually, I appreciate the historical perspectives you have provided in your various missives.

     Joe

     Reply
10. Rachel says:
    December 4, 2009 at 1:32 pm

    MAGUINDANAO MASSACRE – JUSTICE MUST PREVAIL !!!!

    Looking back to what had happened , it’s really TRAUMATIC to each and everyone of us,when PEOPLE WITHOUT CONSCIENCE can do such a GRUESOME/BARBARIC CRIME.As a woman myself, what they have done to the women-victims were INJUSTICE BEYOND WORDS.They all died because of people that have been so GREEDY WITH POWER .Whoever have orchestrated and have done this MUST PAY TO THEIR LAST DROP OF BLOOD.There must be more buried in their area ,if it wasn’t a blown up news- they’ll belonged to people that have been buried to unknown locations and the bereaved families that have lost their kins,friends will forever never see even their very bones.JUSTICE MUST PREVAIL,no one is excused for committing such a crime that shocked the whole world.It’s sad because not all people here in Mindanao are as HEARTLESS as those that have done it.We are PEACE LOVING AND HARDWORKING PEOPLE that just want to live in a PEACEFUL/CRIME-FREE ENVIRONMENT.Due to this ,our Mindanao will be SCARRED FOR LIFE and some people now thought that it’s unsafe to go here.
    I have lived here for 41 years,my grandfather have never left our place – even died here ,because for him he had found the LAND OF PROMISE .He has chosen to live here with his family because he was charmed by the place,he served as the 1st Vice Mayor of a city here and he’ll always tell us that wherever we go we’ll always go back here in Mindanao.He has befriended Muslim clans because he got a farm planted with palm oil somewhere in Sultan Kudarat.There were tough times during his early years staying on that area but what had happened in Maguindanao was perhaps the worst in the history for it involved innocent people /hardworking people/women that were killed for a WHIM.
    Everyone here wants JUSTICE for what they have caused us all.We all fear for our lives if these people can’t be all caught .They must pay for the crimes they have committed.
    I do hope that there’ll be more evidences leading to the downfall of the people behind this UNFORGIVABLE CRIME OF A LIFETIME.
    Praying for the bereaved families that they must find ways in accepting what had happened to their loved ones,for us living here in Mindanao,that we’ll be protected from abusive /heartless people that terrorizes our peaceful lives.
    We must be vigilant at all times,because we never know what happens next.
    Thanking people that have done their very best/worked hard to come out with an analysis that can be very vital/useful to unveil the REAL TRUTH behind this RUTHLESS CRIME.

    Reply
11. _angelica_ says:
    January 8, 2010 at 4:12 pm

    It is the worst massacre that exist in Philippine History.

    Reply

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