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The men who planned a massacre which rocked the Philippines'
political establishment more than a decade ago have been found guilty of
murder.
On November 23, 2009, 58 people were killed in the town of
Ampatuan, in the southern province of Maguindanao. Their bodies were buried in
three shallow graves on a hilltop.
The wife and sister of political candidate Ismael
"Toto" Mangudadatu and 30 journalists were among the victims.
Mangudadatu had sent his family members to file paperwork
allowing him to run for governor of Maguindanao.
Their convoy was ambushed, sprayed with bullets -- after
which the survivors were ruthlessly hunted down and executed.
Mangudadatu was running to end the 20-year rule of the
Ampatuan family. His rival in the election was Datu Andal Ampatuan, Jr., also
known as Unsay, mayor of Datu Unsay town, and son of the incumbent governor,
Andal Ampatuan, Sr.
On Thursday, a judge in Manila found Ampatuan Jr. -- along
with several other relatives and primary suspects -- guilty on multiple
accounts of murder. They were sentenced to life in prison.
"This is momentous verdict should help provide justice
to the families of the victims, and build towards greater accountability for
rights abuses in the country," said Phil Robertson, Deputy Asia Director,
Human Rights Watch."
"Advocates should use this verdict to spur further
political and judicial reforms to ultimately end the impunity that has plagued
the country for far too long. More broadly, this verdict should prompt the
country's political leaders to finally act to end state support for 'private
armies' and militias that promotes the political warlordism that gave rise to
the Ampatuans."
Within months of the massacre, an investigation had pointed
to a well-planned conspiracy orchestrated by the Ampatuan family, and involving
members of the Philippines police and army. Some 200 suspects were detained,
amid a national outcry which saw the central government impose martial law.
The scandal resulted in an end to the Ampatuans grip on
politics in Maguindanao.
Toto Mangudadatu became governor in May 2010, according to
CNN Philippines, six months after the massacre. He served three terms before
running successfully for Congress this year.
Speaking to CNN Philippines, Mangudadatu said he could
"forgive" those responsible, "but still, we will look for
justice. We can let it go, but we need justice."
It had been dubbed by many in the Philippines media as the
"trial of the decade." Of the 197 people eventually charged with
murder, eight have died during the long procedures, including Andal Ampatuan
Sr. Some 80 suspects still remain at large. Thursday's trial involved 101
suspects, including those who planned the massacre.
"We know who we have a strong case against," Nena
Santos, lawyer for the families of 38 victims, told CNN Philippines ahead of
the verdict. "There are some whose involvement in the conspiracy was not
established so I think they will be freed like some of the policemen who were
just assigned there and knew nothing but were included in the charges."
The failure to bring all suspects to trial, including
several dozen police officers and soldiers, could yet put the family members of
victims and witnesses at risk, Human Rights Watch has warned.
"The families of Maguindanao victims and witnesses will
be at risk so long as suspects remain free," said Robertson.
"Regardless of the verdicts in the case, Philippine authorities need to
apprehend the several dozen suspects still at large."
HRW said some suspects at large had sought sanctuary with
rebel groups operating in the area. Maguindanao is located on the southern
island of Mindanao, which has long been a hotbed of insurgency against the
Manila government.
Mindanao sits at the borders of Malaysia and Indonesia, and
has been plagued by terrorism and unrest. It is home to several Islamist
insurgent groups, including Abu Sayyaf, which has been blamed for a number of
attacks on civilians and Philippine government troops, as well as the
kidnapping of several foreign nationals.
The ISIS-affiliated militants laid siege to Marawi for five
months, and the violence forced more than 350,000 residents to flee the city
and the surrounding areas, as their homes were reduced to rubble by airstrikes
and militant fire.
Source: (https://edition.cnn.com/2019/12/18/asia/philippines-maguindanao-massacre-verdict-intl-hnk/index.html )
