FLOWERS, CANDLE FOR GRANDMA. Ralph Ian Malabanan, 11, grandson of tabloid reporter and Ampatuan massacre victim Gina dela Cruz, lights a candle on a headstone bearing her grandmother’s name at the massacre site in Sitio Masalay, Barangay Salman in Ampatuan, Maguindanao during a visit last month. The promulgation of judgment against the accused is set on Thursday (Dec. 19). (PNA photo by Allen V. Estabillo)
GENERAL SANTOS CITY -- Maura Montaño, 80, winced as she tried to remember the last time she saw her daughter Marife, a broadcast and print journalist here, two days before the Ampatuan massacre on Nov. 23, 2009.
Marife, fondly called “Neneng” by her family and colleagues, bade Maura and her two children goodbye to cover a festival in Sultan Kudarat province the next day, a Sunday, and another “event” in nearby Maguindanao the day after.
It was the last time that Maura saw her daughter alive. She would receive a phone call before noon two days later, a Monday, that Marife was gone, killed along with many others somewhere in Maguindanao province.
Marife, as Maura was later told, joined at least 32 other journalists who accompanied a convoy of relatives of then Buluan, Maguindanao Vice Mayor Esmael “Toto” Mangudadatu, who was supposed to file his certificate of candidacy for governor at the provincial Commission on Elections office in Shariff Aguak town.
Pain remains
They never made it to Shariff Aguak. The bullet-riddled bodies of 58 people were later found scattered, and with some buried in a pit, on a hill in Sitio Masalay, Barangay Salman in Ampatuan, Maguindanao.
“Sakit kaayo. Hangtod karon sakit lang gihapon (It’s really painful. Until now the pain is still there),” she said in an interview.
Exactly 10 years and 26 days after that fateful day, Maura will personally get a glimpse for the first time on Thursday (Dec. 19) of the massacre’s principal suspects led by former Datu Unsay Maguindanao Mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr. and his brother Zaldy, former Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao governor.
The long-drawn trial against the alleged masterminds of the carnage will finally see its results with the scheduled promulgation of judgment on the multiple murder cases handled by Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 221 Judge Jocelyn Solis-Reyes.
Maura, along with the other immediate families of the massacre victims, will be attending the promulgation set 9 a.m. at Camp Bagong Diwa, Taguig City.
Each family will have at least one representative present in the promulgation as the complainants of the case.
Law firms representing the families, media groups and now Maguindanao 2nd District Rep. Esmael Mangudadatu, who lost his wife Genalin and several other relatives in the massacre, gave transport fare for the trip to Manila of the family representatives.
Conclusion
Grace Morales, wife of slain local tabloid reporter Rossel and also attending the promulgation, said they feel nervous thinking about the upcoming judgment day.
But she said it was only proper for the case to reach its conclusion as they waited for so long.
“We really don’t know what will happen. But we’re hoping and praying that they will all be convicted. We’re hoping and expecting for a conviction, no less,” said Morales, the secretary of the Justice Now Movement (JNM), a group composed of the families of the slain journalists.
Jhan Chiene Maravilla, daughter of slain Bombo Radyo Koronadal reporter Bart, said she is also nervous but feels “positive” about the promulgation of the case.
She said she expects a “guilty verdict” and believes that they have a strong case against the accused.
“It took that (10 years) long to reach this point. We are grateful to everyone who stood with us these past years,” she said.
Emily Lopez, JNM president, said they trust the court to give a fair decision of the case.
She believes that the prosecution, led by a special panel created by the Department of Justice, presented enough evidence to convict the Ampatuans and the other co-accused.
Conviction
Lopez, a cousin of victim Arturo Betita, said they are confident of getting a “100 percent conviction” but acknowledged that anything can happen in a legal battle.
She said they also expect that the accused will immediately file appeals before the higher courts if the decision will not favor them.
“We’re preparing for that. This case might drag on but for now, we’re focused on the big decision on Thursday,” she said.
The promulgation of judgment on the massacre case was originally scheduled for Nov. 20 but the Supreme Court granted the court’s petition for a one-month extension.
Solis-Reyes, in an order dated Nov. 29, set the promulgation date to Dec. 19.
A total of 197 persons were charged for the massacre but 80 of them remained at large.
Aside from Andal Jr. and Zaldy, also tagged as principal accused were the family’s patriarch, Andal Sr; former Shariff Aguak mayor Anwar; and, former Maguindanao acting governor Sajid Islam.
Andal Sr. died on July 17, 2015 due to liver cancer.
Live coverage
Meanwhile, the other family members of massacre victims who will not be attending the promulgation in Manila will gather here on Thursday for the live viewing via television of the proceedings.
The Supreme Court earlier granted a petition filed by various media groups for the live coverage and streaming of the promulgation of judgment.
Fr. Rey Carvyn Ondap will lead a mass at the novitiate in Barangay Lagao prior to the live viewing. (PNA)
