A decade has passed and justice remains elusive for the victims of the worst electoral violence in recent history of the Philippines and the deadliest single attack against the press. Apart from the gross violations directed towards the 58 individuals, 32 journalists included, the slow judicial process aggravates further the suffering of the victims’ families.
Justice delayed is truly justice denied.
The Commission on Human Rights denounces the longstanding impunity surrounding the Maguindanao Massacre. Ten years without punishment for any of the perpetrators clearly indicates the failure of our justice system to deliver and function effectively. Although the Supreme Court has announced that the decision on the case will be released in December 2019, the Commission demands the speedy convictions of persons responsible and calls for stronger protection of journalists’ safety and security.
Clamouring for justice does not end with the case of Maguindanao Massacre. Until now, there is a growing number of unresolved cases of violence and harassment against individual journalists. Killings, threats, surveillance, online and offline attacks have made the practice of journalism even more dangerous. Members of the media deserve improved working conditions that would allow them to perform their duties independently, free from any pressure and intimidation.
In 2009, the Commission deployed an investigation team from both Central and Regional Offices to probe the Maguindanao Massacre and extended forensics support in examining the victims’ remains. The CHR also granted financial assistance to the families of victims to aid them in pursuing the case and continued close monitoring of its progress until the last trials.
As a national human rights institution, the CHR will continue to investigate attacks against the press, collaborate with and support media organisations in their call for national efforts to ensure safety and protection of journalists, and to exhaust international mechanisms to elevate the prosecution of media-related attacks. Impunity endangers us all and it is a shared public interest to petition reforms in the judiciary and to unclog the system of barriers that prohibit the administration of justice.
The Maguindanao Massacre is a resounding evidence of how the State fails to safeguard the right to life, the right to freedom of expression, and the right to information of its people. Whatever the decision on this case will be, it will become a living testament of how our nation defines democracy and how it values human rights.###