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TINIG NG PLARIDEL The Official Student Publication of the University of the Philippines College of Mass Communication Year XXXV, No. 2 November 26, 2013
Relatives of the massacre victims speak in front of the Mendiola Peace Arch Saturday to call for justice. Photo by Demerie Dangla, UP Aperture
Victims’ kin seek UN aid
BY DEXTER CABALZA
Frustrated over government inaction to prosecute the suspects of Maguindanao massacre and to give due compensation, the victims’ kin turned to the United Nations (UN) for help Saturday. Gilbert Andres, lawyer of the Media Defence - South East Asia (MD-SEA), filed a request for investigation through email to the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) special rapporteurs on the Protection of Freedom of Expression, on Extrajudicial Killings and on Reparations after a press conference at the University of the Philippines College of Mass Communication. “These UN special rapporteurs are experts on the field of human rights to declare that the numerous instances of extrajudicial killings of journalists are a gross violation of human rights,” Andres said. It took the families four
years to decide seeking help from the special rapporteurs because they thought that the Philippine government would act on the cases immediately. “Umasa tayo na may gagawin ang ating pamahalaan, ngunit ngayon makikita na marami pa ring kaso ng extrajudicial killings (We expected the government to act on the matter but we can see that there are still a number of extrajudicial killings),” Andres added. The Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism reported at least 23 journalists killed during the first 40 months of President Benigno Simeon Aquino III in office, almost twice the number during the term of his predecessor Gloria MacapagalArroyo. Under Arroyo, 12 media murders occurred during the same period from January 2001 to May 2004. “We believe that one killing of a journalist is already a gross violation of freedom of expression,
Beyond grief
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Akala ko
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Thicker than Water
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Be not distracted: end impunity now
“Sama-sama nating gawing tunay ang mga katagang: never forget.”
A review of Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism’s Angkan, Inc.
because one killing is a permanent censorship,” Andres said. Formerly known as the South East Asia Media Legal Defence Initiative, MD-SEA is a regional non-government organization of lawyers, journalists and media activists which focuses on the defense of the media and the promotion of freedom of expression. Atty. Harry Roque of the Center for International Law, who is one of the counsels of the Maguindanao massacre victims, said only 20 percent of the case has
been resolved after four years. Only 106 of the suspects have been arrested while 88 more are at large, most of whom are members of the Ampatuan clan and of their civilian volunteer organizations, according to Roque, who is also the country’s representative to the MDSEA. “[With these figures], we do not believe that the resolution of the Maguindanao massacre is a priority of the government,” he said. Noemi Parcon, widow of Joel
Continued on page 2
Media, student groups join hands to call for justice BY KIMBERLY VILLEGAS and ALYSSA JOY JOSE
Members of media and student groups formed a human chain along Roxas Boulevard to call for justice a day before the fourth year anniversary of the Maguindanao Massacre. The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) led the protest in commemoration of the said case’s fourth year in court together with the victims’ relatives, and other media and student organizations. “Sana naman hindi na ito umabot ng ikalimang taon at may makita tayong magandang resulta sa paggulong ng hustisya ukol sa
isyu na ito (I hope this case will not reach its fifth year. I hope we will see justice being served),” said political activist Mae Paner, also known as Juana Change. On November 23, 2009, 58 people were killed in an electionrelated incident in Maguindanao. Of these, 32 were journalists. They were en route to the Commission on Elections provincial office for the filing of the candidacy of then Buluan ViceMayor Esmael Mangudadatu, when armed men, allegedly working for the Ampatuans, ambushed and killed them. NUJP Chairman Rowena
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2 . OPINION . TINIG NG PLARIDEL
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EDITORIAL
Beyond grief Four years spent on mourning is a period too long. Four years of government inaction is deplorable. We commemorate yet again the Maguindanao Massacre, where 58 people, including 32 journalists, were killed in the line of duty. It has been four years since the mass killing in Ampatuan town, yet it seems as if it was only yesterday – nothing has changed since. Up to now, we see our fellow mediamen being harassed, intimidated and even killed for exposing truth that would otherwise rattle those in power. The Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility recorded 205 media killings since 1986. Of these, 19 occurred since President Aquino assumed his post three years ago. We hear about extrajudicial killings and desaparecidos who are silenced for disturbing the status quo. Human rights violations remain even after the Martial Law. But above all, we see our government taking no concrete steps in eliminating the culture of impunity. Four years was more than enough time for two presidents to flex their political muscles and set up mechanisms to give due punishment to masterminds of these killings and to recompense the orphaned families of the 58. Government inaction tells us one thing: either they dismiss the killings as plain collateral damage,
or they take part in the culture of impunity themselves. Their lack of substantive response has pushed the families of the victims to try and settle the injustice by themselves. In February, relatives of 14 of those killed have actually signed an agreement for an agent to negotiate a P50-million settlement from the Ampatuan clan, who were the alleged perpetrators of the massacre. However, the settlement did not push through as the Ampatuan emissary was shot dead on March 25, himself falling prey to the unjust bloodshed. Various groups tagged President Aquino as “Impunity King” earlier this week, and with good measure. Halfway through his term, it seems Aquino is far too distracted with other national issues for him to sympathize with the 58 killed years ago – it didn’t happen under his watch, anyway. After all, what is 58 lives to him compared to the thousands killed due to the wrath of supertyphoon Yolanda? For the president, resolving the massacre can wait; it appears that defending the anomalous funds given to the Disbursement Acceleration Program and the President’s Social Fund is definitely more important. What the President does not see is how these issues, along with many others plaguing the Philippines today, are manifestations of the very same
culture of impunity, which was vividly demonstrated in the 2009 Maguindanao Massacre. That the wrongdoers behind the country’s problems remain unaccountable shows how the entire Aquino administration affirms such culture which has effectively corrupted the practice of democracy in the country. We are given the illusion that the media is free to report the truth and expose wrongdoing, but those in seats of power are just as free to silence them once they become a nuisance to the latter’s self-serving deeds. Four years without justice is far too slow. We should stop
wallowing in grief, but we must never forget what we all cried for. Instead, let us go past the tears and criticize the government with profound rage for their heedlessness. We must hold them accountable for the culture of impunity that prevails in our country, and for their disregard for justice. We should grow even more furious every time the government turns a blind eye on each innocent life taken away to serve the interests of the powerful. Let us demand for the speedy delivery of justice with fervor and rage. Unlike Aquino, let us not be distracted from our call: end impunity now.
Victims’ kin seek UN aid
asking the president to accomplish at least 80 percent of the case before he left his seat as the president of the Philippines. I hope that he can hasten the trial),” she said. The victims filed an earlier complaint through email before the UNHRC Friday, this time to ask UN to persuade the Philippine government to provide each of the families a P2-million compensation for the deaths of their “breadwinners.” Roque invoked the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights to demand
reparation from the state for violation of the victims’ right to life. The Aquino administration, however, objected to give compensation to the victims’ kin because the incident happened under Arroyo’s term. The families of the victims filed a complaint before the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) in February 2010 asking for compensation from the government. The Jakartabased ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights, however, dismissed it and forwarded
it to the ASEAN Secretariat after a Philippine official declared it a “domestic issue.” Andres said the families expect a favorable response from tapping the help of the UN special rapporteurs, citing the 2007 visit of Philip Atson, a former special rapporteur on extrajudicial executions whose work sparked reforms in the local justice system. After Alston submitted his report, the Supreme Court designated 99 regional trial courts to hear cases of extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances, he said.
Continued from page 1 Parcon from Prontiera News, said it was likely to take 16 to 20 years before her husband’s case would be resolved, given the slow pace of the trial. “We are asking the president na sana man lang 80 percent [ang matapos] bago siya bumaba sa puwesto bilang presidente ng Pilipinas. Magawa man lang niya na mapabilis ang trial (We are
Illustration by RAIZA JAVIER
MELISSA LUZ LOPEZ, Editor-in-Chief. MARIEJO MARISS RAMOS, Associate Editor. MARISSE GABRIELLE PANALIGAN, Managing Editor. IZA DARLENE CAY & ELIZABETH ESCAÑO, News Editors. BEATA REGINA CAROLINO, Features Editor. JOHN EDISON UBALDO, Sports Editor. JULIUS RYAN UMALI, Layout Editor. UP APERTURE, CMC-based org and TNP’s official photojournalism arm for AY 2013-2014.
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TINIG NG PLARIDEL EDITORIAL BOARD AY 13-14
FEATURE + OPINION . TINIG NG PLARIDEL . 3
T
he kings and queens of Shariff Aguak and Datu Hoffer parade under a ball of fire and a sea of dirtstained palms and fingers. Donning robes of velvet and chunks of gold, they come down from their ostentatious yet desolate palaces in the sky in the guise of new but poorly-maintained municipal halls, and ride their chariots among the poverty-stricken streets of Maguindanao. With crowns of corruption poised atop their heads, they wave their sceptres of impunity over skeletal figures and butchered bodies.
“Ginagawa namin ‘to [screening] para ipaalala sa mga future media practitioners ang mga threats ng press freedom at ng demokrasya (We are doing this to remind our future media practitioners of the threats on press freedom and democracy),” said Che de los Reyes, PCIJ Training Director. “Ginagawa namin ito para hindi nila makalimutan (We are doing this so they will never forget).” Angkan, Inc. centers on Mindanao’s political royalty and the persisting poverty and absence of governance in Maguindanao due to
extremely strong sense of “clannism” in Maguindanao narrows down the choices of the people and even, to a certain extent, removes their options entirely. The documentary also unravels a series of startling statistics: the record-breaking 97.9 percent voter turnout in the province during the 2010 elections, coupled with the exceeding number of voters compared to the number of residents in Datu Unsay town. Add to that the P3.87 billion Internal Revenue Allotment for Maguindanao in 2011. Half of the
THICKER THAN WATER: T H E
G O D S
It is election period, and once again, they have come to feed on the carcasses of their barren bailiwicks. They have come to maximize the town’s utility, which to them stands as the family enterprise.
Politics: a family business
Kicking off the monthlong commemoration of the Maguindanao Massacre and the campaign to end impunity at the UP College of Mass Communication, the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ), in partnership with the UP Journalism Club (UPJC), conducted a free screening of the documentary Angkan, Inc. The screening was followed by a discussion with the man behind the camera, Ed Lingao. Lingao is currently the Multimedia Director of PCIJ.
Akala ko BY KAREN ANN MACALALAD
Ni minsan ay ‘di ko inakalang makikilahok ako sa gawaing tulad ng mga ito: ang paghawak ng karatula at pagtayo sa ilalim ng nakapapasong sinag ng araw. Ngunit apat na taon na. Sa isang bansang tulad ng Pilipinas, isang nakalulungkot na katotohanan ang napakabagal na pag-usad ng hustisya sa isang napakabigat na pangyayari. Naalala ko pa ang unang araw ng pagpasok ko sa Unibersidad bilang mag-aaral ng peryodismo. Kapansin-pansin pa ang ngiting nakaguhit sa aking mga labi, tanda ng aking pagkagalak na mapabilang sa mga estudyante na sa unang pagkakataon ay sasabak sa mapanghamong buhay-kolehiyo. Napakabibo ko noon at halos lahat na yata ng mga aktibidad na inilatag sa aming harapan ay sinalihan ko.
O F
M AG U I N DA N AO
BY KRYSTEN MARIANN BOADO
these long-standing dynasties. The correlation between poverty and extensive political dynasties, which have found itself at the heart of the provincial towns, was stressed in the nearly 50-minute film. “The clans are going to be there in perpetua until you do something about them,” Lingao explained. “Nobody has really looked at the clans and the dynamics between the clans and the voters, the clans and the national government, the clans and the regional government.” Contrary to its meagre population and deficient situation, the chaotic race for the thrones of Maguindanao traces back to the datus, the original Mindanao royalty from which these political clans claim to have come from. Adapting the datus’ need for followers while evolving into political warlords, the
locals, however, still live below the poverty line despite the hefty sum supposedly spent to deliver basic services to less than a million residents. The film firmly tackles the suppression of democracy and the illusion of free choice in a province where what is thicker than water trickles down and eventually poisons the rivers of the people. Political clans, although highly discouraged by the 1987 Constitution, have not been absent in the pages of the country’s socalled democracy. However, it is not only the Ampatuans and Mangudadatus who make up the most prominent political dynasties in the Philippines. Various ‘royal’ bloodlines exist throughout the archipelago’s landscape, only with a change of names, position and
Akala ko, malaya na ako. Masaya ang lahat. Ngunit sa paglipas ng mga araw ng pamamalagi ko sa unibersidad, tila nag-iba – nagiba – ang aking pananaw sa mundong ginagalawan ko. Unti-unting nabura ang kamusmusan at kamangmangan sa aking katauhan. Namulat ako sa totoong problema ng midya na hindi tulad ng karaniwan kong nakikita sa telebisyon. Sa isang iglap, sumiklab ang isang damdamin na nagtulak sa akin upang makilahok sa mga hakbang para sa hustisya ng mga biktima ng Maguindanao Massacre. Nang makilala ko ang pamilya ng mga biktima, naramdaman ko ang bigat ng pinagdaanan at patuloy na pinagdaraanan nila dahil sa kawalan ng hustisya. Sa apat na taon mula noong makita’t mabalitaan nila ang sinapit ng kanilang mga mahal sa buhay, ramdam ko ang takot na unti-unting malimutan ng lipunan ang sinapit ng kanilang kapamilya. Sa tulong ng mga kaibigan, kaklase, mga ate at kuyang nagbigay ng
oras para manawagan sa mas mabilis na pag-usad ng hustisya, mas lumakas ang paniniwala kong ang kabataan ang pagasa ng bayan. Ngunit sa kabilang banda’y nakaramdam ako ng magkahalong takot, galit at awa—takot para sa aking sarili at sa mga tulad ko na nakikibaka. Takot na malagutan ng hininga at ng kalayaan na mabuhay, tulad ng mga naging biktima ng malagim na pagpatay, kung saan karamihan ay mga peryodistang tulad ko. Takot na iwanan ang pamilya na nakasama mula pagkabata para lamang isakatuparan ang tungkuling sa aki’y iniatas. Nakaramdam ako ng galit para sa mga estudyante na nagkikibit-balikat lamang, nananatiling kimi, at kinalilimutan ang kanilang tungkulin bilang alagad ng midya. Tulad sila marahil ng gobyerno na kahit marinig ang samu’t saring boses ng lipunan ay nananatiling bingi sa pagsigaw ng hustisya sa naganap na trahedya. Sa kabilang banda, bilang estudyante ng peryodismo ay alam kong hindi
political colors. More often than not, these kings and queens are the fat-bellied politicians we have come to know as those who treat the Philippines as a business and not as a nation in need for progress and societal change. “By putting relatives in their positions, you are perpetuating business. You are perpetuating power,” Lingao said.
Never forget
However, it is never too late to strip these dynasties of this power. Abusama Taguntong of the local watchdog Citizens Coalition for ARMM Electoral Reforms calls out to the youth in one of the film’s segments. He relies on the youth as the country’s hope to strengthen democracy and sever the firm grip of political clans through electing or becoming competent public servants themselves. As the torch is handed to the next generation, Taguntong believes that it is never too late for the youth to bite back the hand that feeds them. It is never too late for the youth to rebel against these kings and queens and fight these monsters among men. It is never too late for the youth to remember that Mindanao’s most powerful clan has been responsible for the deaths of public servants who became the eyes and ears of the nation. And as the youth ward off the crowns of corruption and sceptres of impunity in a barren, broken land, hope flickers from a distance, waiting for the battle to be won by the young blood of these brave warriors who would dare not forget.
ko ito dapat maramdaman sapagkat tayo ay hinuhubog upang maging instrumento ng katotohanan at tagapaghatid ng balita sa bayan. Bakit pa natin pinili ang landas na ito kung hindi rin tayo handang harapin ang landas ng pakikibaka upang tuldukan ang namamayaning kultura ng kawalang-hustisya? Para sa katarungan ng mga naging biktima ng kawalang-hustisya, para sa kalayaang magpahayag sa mamamayan, sa pagkalaban sa mga nagbubusal sa katotohanan, handa na akong sumabak pa sa mga susunod na taon. Hindi sapat ang mga letra’t salita lamang sa mga pahina. Mas makabubuti kung magkakaroon ng matatag na pwersa kung saan ang bawat isa na may kursong kabilang sa larangan ng komunikasyon ay makikilahok at ibabalita sa marami ang ganitong mga pangyayari para sa tuluyang pagkamit ng hustisya sa Maguindanao Massacre. Sama-sama nating gawing tunay ang mga katagang: never forget.
4 . BACK PAGE . TINIG NG PLARIDEL
Family members of victims of the Maguindanao Massacre, together with various groups and media organizations, aired their grievances over the slow justice system in the Philippines. Four years after the massacre, perpetrators of the killings have not yet been punished, and due compensation have not been given to the relatives of the victims. Photos by Thomas Benjamin Roca, Antonio Jose Galauran and Demerie Dangla, UP Aperture
Media, student groups Paraan said the “very slow track” of justice is a manifestation of the “many problems and holes in the country’s justice system.” “Ngayon, under PNoy, 18 na ang pinatay na journalist based on the documentation of NUJP. Pinapakita lamang nito na sa Pilipinas, pwede kang pumatay ng 58 na tao and you can get away with it (Under President Aquino, 18 journalists have been killed, according to NUJP’s documentations. This only shows that here in the Philippines, one may slaughter 58 people and he/she can get away with it),” she said. Paraan also appealed to the people to keep an eye on the continued media and activist killings which remain unresolved.
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Clockwise: (1) Media and student groups formed a human chain along Roxas Boulevard to call for justice. (2) Red ribbons bearing the names of journalists killed were attached to the Mendiola gates. (3) Groups tag PNoy as ‘Impunity King,’ following the lack of government response to the call for justice. (4) CMC students hold a vigil Friday to commemorate the fourth year of the Maguindanao Massacre.
Continued from page 1
The protest started with a prayer-ritual, followed by brief speeches from participating group representatives.The participants lighted candles and offered prayers for the victims of the Massacre on Friday. Before heading to Roxas Boulevard, the College of Mass Communication (CMC) community gathered to commemorate the massacre at the newly-inaugurated Freedom of Information Garden. “Halata ang tamlay sa paggunita ngayong taon sa Ampatuan Massacre dahil sa mas pressing issues ng relief at rebuilding operations ng Super Typhoon Yolanda, na bumura rin ng iba pang kabiyak na alaala ng lindol sa Bohol at Cebu, at ang Bagyong Santi sa gitnang
Luzon (This year, dwindled interest in commemorating the Ampatuan Massacre is evident. It is because of the more pressing issues the country is facing, like the relief and rebuilding operations after Super Typhoon Yolanda that even took out the remainder from the earthquake that hit Bohol and Cebu and Typhoon Santi that buffeted Central Luzon),” Dean Roland Tolentino said in a statement. Different CMC organizations showed their support in the fight against the culture of impunity, against continued media killings and for the campaign to “never forget.” They also condemned the slow progress of the massacre trial in their statements.
Vigil participants then marched around the Academic Oval with members of the CMC faculty and staff. A separate program was held at Mendiola on Saturday, where various groups tagged President Benigno Simeon Aquino III as “Impunity King” for the lack of government response to speed up the trial. Red ribbons bearing the names of the victims were also pinned near the Mendiola gates. Four years after the Maguindanao massacre, no one has been convicted for the killing, which is considered the single deadliest event for journalists in history. – With reports from Maria Feona Imperial