Media group asks PH to end culture of impunity

http://www.9news.ph/news/maguindanaomassacre/2014/11/22/media-group-asks-ph-to-end-culture-of-impunity

Screenshot of the memorial at the site of the Maguindanao

massacre from a 9News video clip

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), a media watchdog group, demands an end to the culture of impunity in the country as it keeps a close eye on the Maguindanao massacre trial.

An IFJ delegation on Thursday (Nov. 20) met with some Mindanao-based journalists to discuss their working environment five years after the Maguindanao massacre.

Delegation members also met with families of slain journalists whose children were sent to school by foreign media foundations.

The delegation voiced its outrage over what is tagged as the country's worst election-related violence, which killed 58 people – 32 of whom are journalists, and appealed for government accountability.

The IFJ, according to Jane Worthington, Asia Pacific acting director, is demanding tougher actions from the government in bringing justice to the victims as well as putting an end to extrajudicial killings and attacks on media.

In 2009, the IFJ also sent a team to Maguindanao as part of an international mission that conducted an independent probe on the massacre, and demanded action and justice for the victims of the crime.

Culture of impunity

On the other hand, the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) pointed out that five years since the massacre, the victims and their families are yet to get justice.

The NUJP also pointed out that there is a greater need to protect victims' families and witnesses as the case drags on.

It made the statement shortly after two defense witnesses were ambushed in Shariff Aguak town in Maguindanao on Tuesday (Nov. 18). One witness, Dennis Sakal, died, and the other, Kaharudin "Butch" Saudagal, was wounded and survived.

To NUJP Chairperson Rowena Paraan, the massacre helped highlight the situation in the Philippines to the international community.

She said that extrajudicial killings continue to happen because the culture of impunity is rampant.

Paraan added that if President Benigno Aquino III would start showing political will, it would be a strong statement against the current political environment which she described as "favorable to murders."

Both the NUJP and the IFJ are closely monitoring the status of the trial since the case's outcome could impact the conditions on the future of journalism in the country.

Convictions

The recent pronouncement of private prosecutor Harry Roque that the Ampatuans could be convicted by 2016, however, have raised eyebrows, because five years into the case, the defense panel has barely presented its evidence.

Paraan said it would be highly suspicious if convictions could be made in less than two years.

"I know it will be big pogi points for the administration if indeed it will happen, magkaroon ng conviction. So I can understand the prosecution wanting a case resolution before the president steps down. Pero sana wag naman at the expense of the victims," Paraan said.

The IFJ delegation is also set to meet with Justice Secretary Leila de Lima and other government officials to discuss the status of the Maguindanao massacre case.

It is due to release an interim report on Sunday, Nov. 23, the same day the murders happened half a decade ago. - 9News Online, with an additional report from David Santos