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By ALEXANDER MARTIN REMOLLINO The Ampatuans' rise to the peak of political power was in no small part due to their ties with the military. In a most ironic twist, the military proposed the extension of martial law in Maguindanao until the 2010 elections purportedly to teach the Ampatuans “how to run peaceful and credible elections.”
When it comes to human rights and democracy, the Arroyo government never fails to provide ironies.
Critics Slam Martial Law as Ruse, Cover-Up
The Cordillera region is not spared from state-perpetuated and state-supported political violence, according to the CPA, citing the provinces of Abra, Apayao and Kalinga as having a history of election-related and politically motivated killings and other forms of violence allegedly allowed to happen through powerful politicians and warlords with goons and private armies.
By AYI MUALLAM
On Wednesday, hundreds of Filipino journalists and activists, along with several of their colleagues from other countries, marched to Mendiola to mark the "Global Day of Action Against Impunity." The journalists and activists demanded an end to impunity and blamed the Arroyo regime for the rash of killings of activists and journalists nationwide. Listen now
Ampatuan Massacre and Culture of Impunity
Today, hundreds of Filipino journalists and activists march to protest the Ampatuan massacre, in which 57 people -- 31 of them journalists -- were slaughtered in the worst election-related violence in the history of the Philippines. Follow today's events through...
'Maguindanao Folk Live in Fear'
The perpetrators obviously thought that they could get away with their atrocity. The only possible explanation for such impunity is that these people were confident somebody higher up would protect them. We hold the regime of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo accountable for what happened in Ampatuan. It was her regime that had benefited from the reign of terror in Maguindanao. It was her regime that had encouraged and nurtured the violence that led to the massacre.
MANILA — After the brutal killings on Nov. 23, the province of Maguindanao is now under martial law. But only hours since the proclamation, the regime has faced various protests from progressive groups. On Saturday, at the Boy Scout Monument in Tomas Morato in...
A black ribbon placed by a reporter hangs from the last two digits of the street number at the gate of the Department of Foreign Affairs, symbolizing the number of media workers slain in the November 23 Ampatuan massacre in Maguindanao massacre (actually 31 media...
Breaking News: Arroyo Declares Martial Law in Maguindanao Share with Bulatlat's readers what you think of martial-law declaration in...
Reporters covering the Department of Justice (top) and students of De La Salle University in Manila held separate candlelighting ceremonies on Wednesday, December 2, to honor the victims of the Ampatuan massacre and demand justice. (Photos courtesy of Nonoy...
Eldest daughter Sunshine bids goodbye to her mother, Lawyer Concepcion ‘Connie’ Brizuela. Brizuela was laid down to her final rest on Monday, November 30, in their residence in Del Carmen village, President Roxas town in North Cotabato. She was one of the victims...
Arroyo's Complicity in Ampatuan Massacre
Candles, a placard and a wall poster demanding justice for the victims of the Ampatuan massacre and showing Bombo reporter Bart Maravilla, one of the 31 media workers killed in the carnage, at the Makati headquarters of the Bombo Radyo Network Tuesday evening. The...
Human-rights group Hustisya on Tuesday opened the 10-day long commemoration of the International Human Rights Day with an explosion of outrage, symbolized by red paint thrown at a target board with President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s face surrounded by other...
The Hills of Ampatuan, Bathed in Blood
In Davao City, journalists and lawyers light candles in Centennial Park calling for justice for their fallen comrades in the Ampatuan Massacre. Thirty journalists and two lawyers were killed in the worst election violence in Philippine history. (davaotoday.com...
By BENJIE OLIVEROS
The impunity in recent political killings in the Philippines could have emboldened the Ampatuan clan to commit the massacre. If the perpetrators of more than a thousand extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances of political activists could walk scot-free, perhaps, they thought, they could get away with killing less than a hundred people.
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