A week-long commemoration of Maguindanao massacre

It will be a motorcade of memory, as the families of the November 23 massacre victims mark the tragedy's first anniversary by retracing their loved ones' last journey all the way to the desolate hilltop where they died. That will be only one in a series of activities across the country during the week-long commemoration of last year's widely condemned massacre of 57 people in the town of Ampatuan in Maguindanao province in southern Philippines. Among the activities are a mass action at the historic Mendiola Bridge in Manila and a symbolic trip along the doomed route the victims – 32 of them journalists – took on the fateful day of November 23, 2009. The November 23 Movement, a coalition of media groups and organizations, said these events will be staged in Metro Manila, Cebu and South Cotabato starting November 16 and will culminate on November 23. On November 23, families of the 57 victims will participate in a motorcade that will start in General Santos City and end at the crime site, in hilly Sitio Masalay in Barangay Salman, Ampatuan town. “We want to trace the route of the convoy," said Rowena Paraan of the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) at a press conference in Quezon City on Tuesday. The convoy, which included relatives of then Buluan Vice Mayor Esmael “Toto" Mangudadatu, his supporters and lawyers, and 32 journalists and media workers were on their way to Shariff Aguak to file his certificate of candidacy for Maguindanao governor. The group never got to their destination as they were stopped at a checkpoint at Sitio Malating in Barangay Salman, brought to grassy hill in Sitio Masalay, and shot and buried there by men associated with the powerful Ampatuan family. A number of motorists trailing the convoy were also killed. Aside from the motorcade, the Nov. 23 Movement will also plant 58 trees at the crime site in honor of the 58 victims of the massacre – the 58th being Reynaldo “Bebong" Momay, a photojournalist for the Tacurong City-based Midland Review whose body has yet to be recovered. Momay is not included in the official list of the Maguindanao massacre victims. Impunity The November 23 Movement also urged the public to continue pressuring authorities to resolve what is considered the worst election-related violence in Philippine history. A Quezon City court is currently hearing the multiple murder case against 196 individuals implicated in the carnage. The trial proper for prime suspect Andal Ampatuan Jr. and 14 other accused began in September, even as 114 other suspects remain at large. “Hindi lang ito laban ng mga journalists kundi laban din ito ng lahat-lahat ng tao (This is the fight not only of journalists but of everyone)," said NUJP’s Inday Espina-Varona. Luis Teodoro, editor-in-chief of the Philippine Journalism Review Reports and former dean of the University of the Philippines-College of Mass Communication, said the government is part of the problem why the country remains perilous for journalists. “Kaya nagpapatuloy ang impunity kasi nakikita ng publiko na kaunti lang ang naparurusahan (The culture of impunity continues because the public sees that very few culprits are punished)," said Teodoro. Following the Ampatuan massacre, the Philippines was tagged as the most dangerous place in the world for journalists by international media organizations. Teodoro observed that the massacre had prompted media practitioners to be always on guard against any threats to their lives. “Wala raw impact [ang massacre] sa mga journalists ngayon, pero I really think hindi lang visible. Kasi mas nag-iingat na ngayon ang mga journalists, particularly sa mga vulnerable areas sa Mindanao," he said. (The impact of the massacre to journalists is not visible. They are now more cautious in their coverage particularly in vulnerable areas in Mindanao.) To further discuss the effects of the massacre one year after it happened, two fora will be held on November 18 and November 22 at the UP-CMC Auditorium and UP College of Law, respectively, at 9 p.m. Speakers in the forum at the UP-CMC will include Communications Secretary Sonny Coloma, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima, and Aquilles Zonio, one of the local journalists who escaped the massacre after he left convoy before reaching the checkpoint where it was stopped. Meanwhile, guest speakers and reactors in the forum at the UP College of Law will include Newsbreak’s Maritess Vitug, Vera Files’ Yvonne Chua, and NUJP's Bestor Burgos. Profile pic During the same press conference on Tuesday, the November 23 Movement also urged online users of social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter to change their profile pictures to an image prepared by the group, showing a backhoe with the words “Never Forget." “If you care about millions of people being killed, please use this as your profile picture," Varona appealed. In Cebu, journalists are set to gather at an event aimed at formulating an 11-point declaration calling for action to protect media workers in the country. Meanwhile, the International Federation of Journalists will be holding a risk-mapping workshop in Koronadal, South Cotabato, to identify the various elements that may pose danger to journalists. Academics, artists Also on November 22, photojournalists Jes Aznar and Froilan Gallardo will be holding a multi-media exhibit called “Beyond the Massacre" at the UP-CMC Lobby in Diliman. At 7 p.m., a benefit concert dubbed “Never Forget" will also be held at Access Point Restobar near Morato and will feature artists like Noel Cabangon, Joey Ayala, Chikoy Pura, and Janoy and Nanoy. On the same day, the UP-CMC will erect a marker called “Pananda ng Pag-alala at Paglaban" on the grounds of the Plaridel Hall to commemorate the anniversary. Also, the “Carillon" of UP Diliman – a musical assemblage of 46 tuned bells sounded by hammers and controlled from a keyboard – will play tunes in honor of the victims. The next day, on November 23, the UP Carillon will play the famous Pinoy anthem “Bayan Ko" for 58 times, again in honor of the 58 massacre victims, including Momay. The group also showed five different videos in honor of the victims and were meant to remind the public that justice has yet to be served regarding the massacre. The videos, slated to be shown on television and over the Internet, feature families of the massacre victims, as well as journalists from the print and broadcast media. - KBK/HS, GMANews.TV