58-second silence kicks off activities marking massacre anniversary

Philippine radio and television stations offered nearly a minute of silence early Tuesday to kick off activities marking the first anniversary of the Maguindanao massacre. Most radio stations offered 58 seconds of silence starting 7 a.m., one second each for the 57 people killed and one for still missing in last year's incident. "Ang silence na ito ay hindi lamang para manalangin kundi para sa panawagan ng hustisya sa mga naging biktima, at panawagan natin para mapabilis ang palitis sa kaso," Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas (KBP) president Herman Basbaño said in an interview on dwIZ radio. (This moment of silence is not only for justice for the victims, but also to speed up the trial of the multiple murder case.) Basbaño said his group decided to make the moment of silence 58 seconds instead of the 57 as originally planned, in order to include a 58th victim, journalist Humberto Mumay, who is still missing. Mumay, a Koronadal-based journalist, is still presumed missing. "We offered 58 seconds of silence because Mumay is still missing. We also want authorities to attend to his case," he said in Filipino. The KBP claims to have more than 200 affiliate radio and television stations outside Metro Manila. Basbaño said that while they are thankful to President Benigno Aquino III for declaring Tuesday a national day of remembrance, his group’s biggest concern is to get justice for the victims. "What is more important is to give justice to those who were killed, and to make the perpetrators of this heinous crime answer for their actions," he said. He said they will keep watch over the case and vowed to fight dilatory tactics that will prolong the trial of the accused. Also, he said the KBP is fully supporting moves to allow live broadcast coverage of the trial, for transparency. "This will be a chance for us to show the case is progressing. But there should also be measures to protect the rights of the accused. The accused have their own rights that should be respected," he said. Meanwhile, members of the College Editors Guild of the Philippines (CEGP) condemn the delay in the delay in the resolution of the case. In a statement, it said that a year after the massacre no one has still been held accountable Also, it said President Benigno Aquino III assumed the presidency with a promise to lead the people along “daang matuwid" (straight path), but the new administration has not made anyone accountable for the crime yet. If Aquino is really interested in making the past regime accountable, murderers would have been prosecuted long ago, the CEGP said. — LBG, GMANews.TV