JUSTICE SERVED. Maguindanao 2nd Dist. Rep. Esmael “Toto” Mangudadatu (in white polo shirt) and relatives of the victims of the Maguindanao massacre raise their fists as some of the principal accused were found guilty of the crime, during the promulgation of the case at Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig City on Thursday (Dec. 19, 2019). Mangudadatu's wife was among those killed in the massacre on Nov. 23, 2009. (PNA photo by Joey O. Razon)
MANILA -- Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) Secretary Martin Andanar on Thursday welcomed the court's landmark decision to convict several members of the Ampatuan clan and others for their involvement in the decade-old Maguindanao massacre.
The PCOO chief's statement came shortly after Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 221 Presiding Judge Jocelyn Solis-Reyes found Datu Andal Unsay Ampatuan Jr., Zaldy Ampatuan, Anwar Ampatuan Sr., and several others guilty of 57 counts of murder and sentenced them to reclusion perpetua or life imprisonment without parole.
Andanar said the court's ruling merely proves that perpetrators of the crime will not go "unpunished."
“We predicted that this is the only way the judgment should go,” Andanar, who also serves as co-chair of the Presidential Task Force on Media Security (PTFoMS), said in a statement.
“As I’ve said before, criminals who murder or in any way endanger journalists in this part of the world will not go unpunished. This is justice. It was admittedly a slow process but we have to go through it as warranted by our democratic system," he added.
On Nov. 23, 2009, around 58 people, including 32 journalists and media workers, were supposed to witness the filing of candidacy of then Buluan Vice Mayor Esmael Mangudadatu for the 2010 gubernatorial elections but they were flagged down and killed by gunmen in Ampatuan, Maguindanao.
'Justice has triumphed'
Presidential Human Rights Committee Secretariat executive director Undersecretary Severo Catura also joined the families of the victims in their triumph following the favorable court ruling.
Catura said that even though it took 10 years to release the final verdict, the country's judicial system has "effectively worked in the victims’ favor."
“The judicial process may have taken quite some time, but justice has triumphed, with our government remaining true to its obligation to fulfill the human rights of those concerned. The mechanisms have effectively worked in the victims’ favor, and this is what human rights is all about," he said.
He said the ruling debunked critics' claim that the government is allowing impunity, considering the slow pace of justice for victims of the 2009 gruesome murder in Maguindanao.
Catura said the government is only upholding "everyone’s right to a fair and public hearing."
“That is farthest from the truth. One who is fully aware of the intricacies of the process through which criminal justice is served would know that everyone involved in a case -- every plaintiff and every complainant -- deserves a day in court," he said.
"The dictum that every person who is charged with a crime is deemed innocent until proven guilty remains an anchor of the Philippine justice system. And we’re talking of more than a hundred people charged in this gruesome incident," he added.
PTFoMS co-chair Undersecretary Jose Joel Sy Egco considered the historic ruling as “a cause for celebration for those who value press freedom, freedom of expression and human rights.”
Egco made the statement, as he acknowledged that the Maguindanao massacre is deemed as "the deadliest single-day attack on journalists in the world" and the "worst election-related case of violence in recent Philippine history."
“There is no way in objective terms can anyone claim that there is a ’culture of impunity’ in this country," he said.
Court ruling warning vs. criminals
Andanar, Catura, and Egco said in a joint statement that the conviction of the suspects in the Maguindanao massacre case should serve a stern warning against criminals.
They said the ruling shows that there are "effective" democratic mechanisms to hold criminals to account for their misdeeds."
"There is no doubt that the punishment leveled against perpetrators of this dastardly act shall send a clear and strong signal to powerful politicians here and abroad, that freedom lovers around the globe can, should and will close ranks in making them accountable," the joint statement read.
"This latest development has brought back the Philippines to the commune of nations that value, uphold and protect human rights and dignity," they added. (PNA)
