Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, November 23) — Fourteen years after the Maguindanao massacre, families of the victims have lamented still not receiving compensation. A government official claimed some media groups could be blamed for the setbacks.
Presidential Task Force on Media Security (PTFoMS) executive director Paul Gutierrez told the families that the delays have to do with some media organizations arguing against the 2009 case previously being deemed resolved.
“Ang nangyari nga kasi dito, bigla ngang merong mga media group na umepal, sumulat sa korte…Nakarating pa sa United Nations na hindi pa tapos ang kaso,” said Gutierrez, a former journalist, during a forum in Maguindanao on Thursday.
“So, everything related dito po sa inyong compensation, kasama na po ‘yung potential na dapat po makumpisa ng gobyerno, natigil,” he added.
[Translation: What happened was there were some attention-grabbing media groups, who wrote to the court, saying the case is not yet closed. It even reached the United Nations. So, everything related to your compensation, including the potential assets that the government could confiscate from the perpetrators, have been halted.]
In 2020, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) considered the Maguindanao massacre as resolved. However, it later reclassified the case as “ongoing” following appeals not only from organizations but also from the victims’ kin.
National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) chairperson Jonathan De Santos said Gutierrez’s claim has no basis since the UNESCO classification is separate from the court process.
“That claim doesn’t make sense,” De Santos told CNN Philippines in a message. “What he was referring to was the UNESCO listing. That has nothing to do with compensation or final conviction.”
Fifty-eight people — including 32 journalists and family members of then political candidate Ismael “Toto” Mangudadatu — were shot dead in broad daylight in Ampatuan town on Nov. 23, 2009. The incident has become the world’s single deadliest attack on media workers and the worst election-related violence in the country.
READ: Everything you need to know about the Maguindanao massacre
In December 2019, 28 suspects were found guilty, among them eight members of the powerful Ampatuan clan.
“The important thing po kasi dito is ‘yun pong mabali, ang nakikita ko po, mabali ‘yung argumento na hindi pa tapos ang kaso. ‘Yun po kasi ang naging problema nating lahat eh. Meron ng verdict, sabi ng ibang grupo, ‘Hindi pa nga tapos eh.’ In other words, talagang gusto nilang tumagal eh,” Gutierrez said.
[Translation: The important thing here is we debunk the argument that the case is not over. That has become a problem for everyone. There has already been a verdict, but other groups said the case remains unresolved. In other words, they want it to drag on.]
Gutierrez also pointed to the COVID-19 pandemic as a factor behind the delays in the compensation.
“Halos dalawang taon po tayong naka-lockdown kaya hindi gumalaw ‘yung petition sa korte [We were on lockdown for nearly two years so the petition didn’t move in court]. But we are going to attend to that, that I can assure you,” the official said.
He also vowed to check on the status of government efforts to identify and confiscate questionable assets of the Ampatuans, which he said could be used to pay the families.
Justice only ‘partial’
In separate statements on the 14th anniversary, the victims’ families and the NUJP maintained there is only “partial justice” until the convictions are final and proper compensation has been given.
“Sa kabila ng mga unang pangako sa mga politiko at mga opisyal ng gobyerno, ramdam naming naaalala lamang kami kapag malapit na ang November 23,” the group Justice NOW! wrote.
[Translation: Despite previous promises made by politicians and government officials, we feel that we are only remembered when November 23 nears.]
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