Xmas lanterns lit for Maguindanao massacre victims

Two days before Christmas, the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) lit lanterns to commemorate the passage of 13 months since the massacre of over 50 people in Ampatuan, Maguindanao in November last year. Aside from its usual candle-lighting ceremonies, the NUJP decided to light Christmas lanterns along Tomas Morato Avenue in Quezon City this month to convey its Yuletide wish that justice be served to the massacre victims. “We wanted to make people know our Christmas wish, which is justice for all the victims of the massacre," NUJP treasurer Rowena Paraan told GMANews.TV in a phone interview on Thursday night. She added that the commemoration almost did not push through, because “people were too busy with their holiday preparations," but she was surprised to see that members of the media still took part in the lighting of the lanterns. “We did not want to forego the commemoration, so we gave it a Christmas feel," she said. On November 23 last year, 57 people were killed while enroute to file the candidacy papers of then Buluan Vice Mayor and now Maguindanao Governor Esmael Mangudadatu. The massacre was allegedly masterminded by then Datu Unsay Mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr., who is currently facing multiple murder charges before a Quezon City court. In observance of the Christmas and New Year holidays, the biweekly hearings have been suspended until January 13, 2011. Over 100 people, including members of the powerful Ampatuan clan, are facing multiple murder charges for the mass slaughter. - Andreo Calonzo, DM/KBK, GMANews.TV