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Gov’t urged to declare Nov. 23 as national day vs impunity


Two party-list lawmakers filed Wednesday a measure urging the government to declare November 23 of each year as “National Consciousness Day to End Impunity" to commemorate the massacre of 57 people (and another one still missing) in Maguindanao in 2009. Bayan Muna party-list Reps. Teodoro Casiño and Neri Colmenaries filed House Bill 5529 during the second anniversary of the 2009 Maguindanao massacre “to instill awareness and spur action on the part of the government and for the people to do something about it." “The people’s clamor and demand for justice should become stronger to compel government and the authorities to take action and prosecute those who are blanketed with impunity," the lawmakers said in the measure’s explanatory note. Under the bill, the Commission of Human Rights (CHR) is tasked to create programs directed towards educating the people about human rights issues and the need to uphold these rights on November 23 of each year. The measure also mandates the CHR to tap the assistance of civil society groups in this endeavor. The lawmakers said marking the date as National Consciousness Day to End Impunity will remind Filipinos that “high crimes remain unpunished" and that “the fight against injustice in the country should continue to broaden and persist." The bill will have to undergo committee and plenary hearings, and will have to get approval of majority of House members before it can be passed by the House. On November 23, 2009, 57 people, including members of the Mangudadatu clan along with several media personnel, were killed in Ampatuan town while on their way to file the candidacy papers of Maguindanao Gov. Esmael Mangudadatu, who was then Buluan vice mayor. At least 198 people, including primary suspect Andal Ampatuan Jr., are currently being tried by a Quezon City court for multiple murder charges in relation to the massacre. — LBG, GMA News

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