The Maguindanao Massacre 10 years later
For our special presentation on our talk show “Straight from the Sky” we bring you what is happening in the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) especially when it decided to close down fishing areas from November 15, 2019 to February 15, 2019 in order to restock depleted fish stocks.
With us tonight is Alma Saavedra, BFAR public information officer. I asked for this interview because of the BFAR ban on fishing in northern Cebu. During this period, it is prohibited to catch, kill, sell or possess sexually-mature sardines, herrings and mackerels or their larvae, fry or young known locally as lupoy, silinyasi, linatsay, or manansi in the portion of the Visayan Sea and adjoining waters enclosed by a line drawn through following points and coastlines.
From what we gathered from environmental lawyer Antonio Oposa, the Visayan Sea stretches from the mouth of Danac River on the northeastern tip of the Bantayan Island, to the lighthouse in Gigantes Island, to Clutaya Island, to Culasi Point in Capiz Province, eastward along the northern coast of Capiz to Bulacaue Point in Carles, Iloilo, southward along the eastern coast of Iloilo to the mouth of Talisay River, westward across the Guimaras Strait to Tomonton Point in Occidental Negros, eastward along the northern coast of the Island of Negros, and back to the mouth of Danao River in Escalante, Negros Occidental. He calls it the center of the center of our eco-diversity, which is the best fishing ground in the world. So this ban is really for the good of our people who love to eat fish.
So watch this very interesting show on how we can help the BFAR ban the fishing of certain species of fish so that they would continue to spawn and propagate. What this tonight on SkyCable’s channel 53 at 8 p.m. with replays on Wednesday and Saturday same time and channel. We also have replays on MyTV’s channel 30 at 9 p.m. Monday and at 7 a.m. and 9 p.m. on Wednesday and Friday.
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It’s been 10 years since the infamous Maguindanao massacre happened. We had a very important meeting in Dubai when I was still a member of the Mactan Cebu International Airport Authority when we heard this news in their media, and it was truly an embarrassment to discuss this issue with our foreign friends. This massacre prompted calls to fix the Philippines’ political, criminal and judicial systems. This is very true as the nation still has a problem with our justice system.
While there have been efforts at judicial reform, the Maguindanao Massacre is proof that we still lack justice after 10 years supposedly in the courts. Meanwhile we learned that the Supreme Court granted a one-month extension in the Maguindanao Massacre case. Why did the SC allow this extension when 10 years had already passed? They know that this massacre is the single deadliest attack on journalists, 32 of the 58 victims in the massacre were members of the press.
The victims were part of a convoy led by Genalyn Mangudadatu, wife of then Buluan vice mayor and Maguindanao Rep. Esmael Mangudadatu. They were their way to cover Genalyn's filing of the certificate of the candidacy of her husband at the provincial capitol in Shariff Aguak when they were stopped and murdered by more than 100 armed men, who were about to bury all the bodies and vehicles to cover their crime. Among those facing judgment are Andal Ampatuan and Zaldy Ampatuan, the sons of the late head of the Ampatuan clan, and dozens of other suspects. There are more perpetrators of this crime who have not yet been arrested at this time.
I have no doubt that the families of the many victims remain indignant about the super slow proceedings of this case, but hopeful the judge will render justice in the case supposedly one month from now. Andal “Datu Unsay” Ampatuan Jr. is the primary accused in the case pending before the sala of Judge Jocelyn Solis-Reyes of Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 221. Andal Jr. is among the 197 suspects charged over the massacre. Other members of the Ampatuan clan --including its patriarch Andal Sr. who died in 2015-- were charged with 58 counts of murder, which put the Philippines 134th out of 180 countries in the World Press Freedom Index of Reporters Without Borders in April.
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