maguindanao

on my way to kuala lumpur last tuesday to facilitate the training session for the new analysts, i couldn't stop but think of the gruesome massacre that took place in maguindanao last monday. as of last night, at least 58 people were said to be killed in the most horrific manner... all in the name of power. the massacre included at least 7 mangudadatus, their lawyers and staff, at least 34 media practicioners and 5 totally unrelated motorists who were mistaken as part of the convoy. the mangudadatus were on their way to shariff aguak (the province's capital) to file esmael mangudadatus's (vice mayor of the town of buluan) bid for the governorship of the province, when 100 armed men ambushed and kidnapped their convoy. reports said that a backhoe from the governor's office were used to dig a mass grave 2 days prior to the incident, which means that this massacre were already planned and premeditated. andal ampatuan jr., mayor of datu piang town has been tagged as the mastermind behind the massacre.

the ampatuans and mangudadatus were previously allies in the local politics, as ampatuan sr., the current governor who ran unopposed for the past 3 elections, was an ally of the mangudadatus' patriarch back in the marcos era. some articles mentioned that the 2 clans have since parted ways when gov. ampatuan created another municipality that took away some areas that are under the mangudadatus' bailiwick. now, esmael is to challenge the younger ampatuan for the governorship of the province. the mangudadatus then sought the women family members to file vice mayor's candidacy, in hope that no political rivals would harm women since they have already received threats against esmael's life.

what shocked me was the brazen attack, in broad daylight and in major provincial highway. 100 armed men means that the perpetrators are under the influence of a powerful mastermind that could easily swat any would-be rivals. the victims were shot at close range, some of the women were raped, mutilated and tortured in the most macabre manner. most of victims are nearly unidentifiable if not for their clothes and other belongings found in the crime scene. to me, this could only be done by someone who didn't have any humane side. vice mayor mangudadatu said that:

"My wife’s private parts were slashed four times, after which they fired a bullet into it. They speared both of her eyes, shot both her breasts, cut off her feet, fired into her mouth. We can’t call him an animal because I have pets and they are tame. No, he is a monster. They are monsters."

the loss of lives, especially those of the media men and women, is unprecedented. not even iraq and afghanistan could topple this one - 34 or more media professionals killed in a single attack. to think that the philippines is not even at war! this taints the country's image even more. corruption, political scandals, killings - just some of the terms that are easily identified with the philippines. sad but true, kababayans don't even think twice when the urge to keep power drives them to commit ghastly crime against humanity.

no wonder, the philippines is seen as a somalia-like country, where tourists are quick to cancel any plans of visiting, even if our tourist spots here are superior than others. of course, these tourists would rather spend their money in countries where they would feel secure to roam around unharmed.

the main suspect in this massacre is a close ally of gloria macapagal arroyo. although gibo teodoro has already expelled the ampatuans in the ruling lakas kampi cmd, their clout is still a force to reckon with in the province where arroyo trounced her political rivals and produced a 12-0 clean slate for her senatoriables during the 2004 elections. but i still hope that justice will be served. this crime, if left unsolved, will not only give a clear indication that justice system in the philippines is not working but might also mislead the young generation that killing is part of the game and gamble of being a politician and so-called public servant in the philippines.