EDITORIAL - No end to impunity

Thirty media workers were butchered on a hillside in Ampatuan town, Maguindanao on Nov. 23, with another one still unaccounted for. Intimidation of the media, apart from a strong alliance with President Arroyo, characterized the rule of the Ampatuan clan in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

The Ampatuans are by no means unique. Other clans across the country maintain a stranglehold on political power through intimidation, ruling like warlords over their fiefdoms. Within their realms, Philippine laws are suspended; they are the law. Protected by their powerful patrons, they amass wealth through means both fair and foul, running illegal gambling and smuggling operations, then laundering the money to legitimate businesses. Controlling every aspect of the criminal justice system, they steal, harass and kill with impunity.

The 30 who were slaughtered in Ampatuan bring to 134 the number of media workers murdered since the restoration of democracy in 1986. Press freedom advocacy groups noted that 74 of those deaths occurred under the watch of President Arroyo. Of that number, only a few cases have been solved. Many of the murders have been blamed on political warlords who control the police, prosecutors and judges in their respective bailiwicks. In the rare cases where suspects have been arrested, only the triggermen have been indicted, with the suspected brains remaining free.

Since the Maguindanao massacre, statements of condemnation have been issued, candles lit and protest rallies staged in connection with the worst attack in the world against media workers. But there is no guarantee that the massacre, unprecedented in brutality, will put an end to the intimidation of the press in this country. Influential individuals will continue silencing their media critics permanently, secure in the knowledge that they can get away with it.