P15-M suit filed vs Arroyo over Maguindanao massacre

(Updated 9:17 p.m.) A P15-million damage suit was filed Tuesday against former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in connection with the grisly massacre of 57 people in Maguindanao province two years ago.   The 13-page complaint was filed with the Quezon City Regional Trial Court on Tuesday, the eve of the second anniversary of the massacre, by relatives of the 15 journalists killed in the carnage.   In the complaint, the plaintiffs said Mrs. Arroyo in effect aided and abetted the Ampatuan clan when she issued Executive Order 546 in July 14, 2006, which practically legalizes the use of private armies as “force multipliers" in the war against insurgents.   Of the 57 people killed, 32 were journalists and media workers. The other victims were relatives and supporters of incumbent Maguindanao Gov. Esmael “Toto" Mangudadatu and several bystanders.   Among the 196 people implicated in the massacre were members of the powerful Ampatuan family and their supposed private army.   “Arroyo's administration armed the Ampatuans against the secessionist Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in the region, granting the clan much leeway to establish its own paramilitary units," the plaintiffs said in their complaint.   The camp of Mrs. Arroyo has yet to issue an official statement regarding the damage suit as of posting time.   Aiding and abetting the Ampatuans   The plaintiffs further stressed that by aiding and abetting the Ampatuans, Mrs. Arroyo — now a lawmaker and on hospital arrest following the electoral sabotage case filed against her — “directly or indirectly obstructed, defeated, violated and impaired the freedom of the journalist-victims to write for the press or to maintain a periodical publication; their right to be secure in one's person, house, papers and effects against unreasonable researches and seizures and the right to life."   “These acts and omissions of defendant Arroyo violated Article 32 of the Civil Code, which deals with damages for breaches of citizens' constitutional rights – to the damage and prejudice of the victims of the Maguindanao massacre and herein plaintiffs," they added.   Mrs. Arroyo was also accused of refusing “without just cause" to perform her sworn duty as President and to ensure that the laws are faithfully executed in Maguindanao. Reports on the Ampatuans’ alleged human rights abuses had surfaced as early as 2002 and yet Mrs. Arroyo did nothing about it, the relative noted in the complaint.   “Defendant knew or ought to know that the Ampatuans committed numerous human rights abuses in Maguindanao. Various persons and organizations informed defendant about the various human rights abuses and the killings committed by the Ampatuans. Nevertheless, defendant did not investigate nor prosecute the Ampatuans for their human rights abuses. Worse, Arroyo refused to investigate or prosecute the Ampatuans for their human rights abuses," the plaintiffs said.   The former chief executive, they added, is also civilly liable for the Maguindanao massacre under the doctrine of command responsibility. They said as commander-in-chief, she had the supervision, control and command responsibility over officers and members of the Philippine National Police (PNP), who were among the perpetrators of the massacre.   The plaintiffs sought the court to order Arroyo to pay them the amount of 1-million each for moral and exemplary damages. — KBK/MRT/VS, GMA News