Justice still elusive after 16 years of Ampatuan massacre

CAGAYAN DE ORO — Sixteen years have passed but full justice remains elusive for the families of the Ampatuan Massacre victims.

There are many persons allegedly involved who are still at large, and the appeals for the guilty verdict filed by the principal convicts remain pending at the Court of Appeals. These appeals from the Ampatuans were reportedly the reason why the families have yet to receive the compensation ordered by the court.

The Center for International Law (CenterLaw) which handles the case of 19 victims, therefore, filed a motion on November 24 asking the appellate court to resolve the consolidated appeals without further delay, including the judicial recognition of photojournalist Reynaldo Momay—whose remains have never been recovered to this day—as the 58th slain victim.

It stressed that several members of the families are already at an advanced age while some relatives passed away without witnessing full justice.

“The remaining family members of the [m]assacre victims express their earnest hope that they may still be alive when the Honorable Court issues its decision on their consolidated appeals,” the urgent motion read.

Catherine Nuñez, 63, mother of Victor Nuñez, one of the 32 slain journalists and media workers, lamented the delay, stressing that she has been seeking full justice since she was 46 years old. 

“I’m now a senior citizen, and they still did nothing. Is it because our opponent has money?” Nuñez asked during an activity in Cagayan de Oro in commemoration of the massacre that claimed 58 lives.

These appeals by the Ampatuans before the appellate court and the non-recognition of Momay as one of the victims were among the issues raised by media organizations and press freedom watchdogs, prompting the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), which has a mandate to promote the safety of journalists and protection of press freedom, to reclassify the Ampatuan Massacre case as unresolved. 

Media groups reiterated that families only received partial justice, as 44 individuals, including prominent members from the Ampatuan clan, were convicted since the promulgation in December 2019, and at least over 70 persons involved, including individuals carrying the Ampatuan surname, remain at large.

CenterLaw said that long-pending proceedings from gross human rights violations, such as the Ampatuan Massacre, challenge the country’s obligation as a state party under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Article 2, Section 3(a) states that parties must “ensure that any person whose rights or freedoms as herein recognized are violated shall have an effective remedy.”

Emily Lopez, relative of slain media worker Arturo Betia and president of Justice Now, the group of families of Ampatuan Massacre victims, said that they will only achieve full justice if there is a conviction of all persons involved, a public apology from them, and receipt of compensation ordered by a court.

“Many families are still suffering,” Lopez said during a commemoration activity on November 23 in General Santos City, urging the families not to lose hope and continue the fight for full justice.

‘We never forget’

Media organizations from different parts of the country held various activities to commemorate the 16th year of the Ampatuan Massacre, bearing a message that says, “We never forget.”

These included the “Run for Justice” conducted by the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) on November 23 where journalists and press freedom advocates jogged around the University of the Philippines Diliman academic oval in Quezon City.

The group echoed the continuing call of the families for full justice and to end the culture of impunity in the country.

Journalists from NUJP’s local chapters in Iloilo, Zamboanga del Norte, Iligan, and Cagayan de Oro, together with other media groups and campus publications, also lit candles and offered prayers. A mass intended for the commemoration was also held in the Bicol Region which was also participated in by school-based organizations.

Lawyer Beverly Musni of the Union of People’s Lawyers in Mindanao (UPLM) joined the commemoration activity of NUJP Cagayan de Oro and the Cagayan de Oro Press Club, honoring her two colleagues who were killed in the Ampatuan Massacre.

“We demand full accountability, from Ampatuan to Malacañang. The conviction of a few principals is not the end of justice,” Musni said. (DAA)

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