Justice delayed is, it turns out, not only justice denied, it is fatal—yes, fatal. That is, to people involved in the trial of those accused to be behind the Nov. 23, 2009, Ampatuan massacre.
Last Dec. 10, former Datu Salibo, Maguindanao mayor Akmad Baganian Ampatuan, a witness for the prosecution, was wounded in an ambush on the boundary of Guindulungan and Talayan towns. He was in an Army-escorted convoy.
The ambush on Akmad, a relative of the principal accused, follows the murder of another witness, Dennis Sakal, and the wounding of another, Butch Saudagal, in Shariff Aguak town. It is clear that the slow pace of the trial, which has barely cleared the starting gate after more than five long years because of what have been characterized as delaying tactics, has allowed the continued intimidation, threats and assaults on massacre witnesses and even relatives of the 58 victims, 32 of whom were our colleagues.
Worse, the most recent incidents appear to be an offshoot of an ongoing tug-of-war for witnesses, with both defense and prosecution claiming Sakal as their own. There is talk that Akmad had threatened Sakal in an attempt to take him away from the defense.
That these maneuvers can lead to fatal consequences proves that government claims that there have been advances in eradicating the conditions that made the Ampatuan massacre not just possible but inevitable as well—corruption, patronage politics, governance by political expediency, warlordism, to name a few—are just as empty as its promises of speedy justice for the victims of the worst incident of electoral violence in recent Philippine history and the single deadliest attack on Philippine media ever.
Worse, the continued impunity with which witnesses and others involved in the trial are being threatened and assaulted can only make justice ever more elusive.
We reiterate our demand for government to fulfill its pledge of justice by ensuring not just a swift but, most importantly, a fair trial; and also to fulfill its obligation to protect everyone involved in the Ampatuan massacre trial.
The administration has acknowledged that this case will be its litmus test. Alas, it is a test indeed, but one where the Aquino administration seems to be failing very badly.
—ROWENA C. PARAAN,
chair, National Union of Journalists of the Philippines,
nujphil@gmail.com