As of this writing, the death toll in the carnage at Brgy. Salman. Ampatuan, Maguindanao has risen to 64. All are civilians and precious lives wasted in the bloodbath unleashed by a Malacanang-sponsored warlord.

The victims were convoying with Genalyn Tiamzon Mangudadatu to Shariff Aguak morning of November 23 when abducted by about 100 heavily armed men to Brgy. Salman where they were gunned down.

Genalyn Mangudadatu was to file the certificate of candidacy of her husband, Buluan town vice mayor Eshmael “Toto” Mangudadatu for governor, pitting himself against Datu Unsay town Mayor Andal Ampatuan, Jr.

The carnage was well-planned. The armed men were well prepared to carry out the bloodbath and even to get away with it by using a heavy duty back hoe which nearly succeeded in hiding the bodies of their victims.

Not only were the bodies buried. Their vehicles went with them in graves dug by the backhoe.

Twenty-seven journalists and two lawyers were among the dead. Atty. Connie Brizuela and Atty. Cynthia Oquendo have been hounded by threats and harassments by the Arroyo government for their adovacy. They are members of the National Union of People’s Lawyers (NUPL) and known for their courageous defense of victims of human rights violations. Their death is an irreparable loss to the cause of human rights promotion.

The Ampatuan carnage is the single biggest tragedy in the world where such number of journalists were murdered in a single instance. Not even war-torn Iraq and Afghanistan could match that. In 1986, until Pres. Joseph Estrada toppled in January 2001, 86 journalist have been killed. Under Gloria Macapagal Arroyo 86 press people lost their lives.

That does not yet include the death toll of 27 journalists in the Ampatuan carnage. GMA surpassed all her predecessors combined, dictator Marcos included. .

Majority of the victims of the Ampatuan massacre are women.

The loss of the two NUPL lawyers brings to 26 the number of members of the bar and bench murdered under the watch of Macapagal Arroyo.

Political killings – the murder of innocent civilians especially activists and oppositionists – already claimed 1,200 Filipino lives since Gloria Macapagal Arroyo rose to power in 2001. In the same period, 200 persons have been abducted never to reappear.

These high crimes against the Filipino people happen as outcome of the government policy of silencing dissent and buttressing Arroyo’s hold on to power. The loss of innocent lives goes on because of the culture of impunity nurtured by the government, that is, state forces themselves being the culprits or participants in the commission of those crimes, or abetting them through their inaction, tolerance or encouragement of the perpetrators. The perpetrators get away with their crimes as result.

The Ampatuan tragedy is a massacre waiting to happen. The Arroyo government cannot escape criminal liability for the gross negligence of its agents. Toto Mangudadatu lamented that he called up the Army and the PNP to escort the convoy to the capital town Shariff Aguak. His request was flatly turned down.

The main participants in the killings were members of the paramilitary CAFGU and the Civilian Volunteer Organization (CVO). In that regard, Arroyo cannot escape liability for abetting the bid of the Ampatuans to beef up their armed might by arming civilians and inducting them into the CAFGU and CVO to give their private army a semblance of legality.

More Ampatuan massacres are bound to happen due to the government policy of tolerance for private armies. Or even complicity with warlords.

2 Responses to “Arroyo can’t escape liability”

• 1
  Hope Merced
  December 5th, 2009 05:23

  Ampatuan — Malacanang-sponsored warlord. Precisely! I hate Gloria Arroyo so much! She deserves to be burned to death for protecting Ampatuan. Baboy gid ang gaga nga Gloria.
• 2
  janus
  January 5th, 2010 16:06

  Indi na sya Baboy si Gloria ah. Ang baboy iya, kanamit litsonon. Si Gloria iya, hilo na na sya ya.

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