Ensure witnesses’ safety

The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines expresses concern over the death of a potential witness in the Ampatuan massacre trial and the wounding of another in Shariff Aguak, Maguindanao, last Nov. 19, a mere four days before we commemorated the fifth anniversary of this most grievous of crimes that claimed the lives of 58 persons, 32 of them our colleagues in the media.

The death of Dennis Sakal brought to four the number of potential witnesses who have been murdered since the start of the legal process to bring the killers to justice. We’re not counting three dead relatives of other potential witnesses.

Sukarno Saudagal was wounded in the attack.

Whatever the motives, this latest attack on potential witnesses is a setback that will clearly have an adverse impact on the trial. We demand that government immediately ensure the safety of everyone involved in the trial in the interest of truth and justice.

It has been five long years since the mass murder and still no justice is in sight. Incidents such as this attack on Sakal and Saudagal only bode ill for a nation longing to speed up the closure of this bloody page in the history of our country and journalism.

ROWENA C. PARAAN,
chair, National Union of
Journalists of the Philippines, nujphil@gmail.com