Political Violence And The Philippines

Will justice be served? A few days ago news of a brutal massacre in the town of Shariff Aguak, Maguindanao sparked a national outcry for justice. The group of Geneleyn Mangudadatu, wife of Vice-mayor Esmael Mangudadatu, together with some family members and a small contingent of media men and journalist were headed to Shariff Aguak to file the certificate of candidacy of Vice-mayor Mangudadatu who is running for Governor for Maguindanao. On their way to the Provincial Capitol, scores of armed men stopped their convoy and abducted Genelyn Mangudadatu and the rest of her team. They were brought to a remote hillside where the brutal, and cold-blooded massacre took place. Among the casualties were the wife and sisters of Vice-mayor Esmael Mangudadatu, two female lawyers who were the legal counsel of the Mangudadatu, and a handful of media men and journalists. The abductors were supposedly members of the private armed group of the Ampatuans’, a great political rival of the Mangudadatus’. A week prior to the abduction and the senseless killings, Vice-mayor Mangudadatu requested for security escorts from the Philippine National Police and from the Armed Forces but unfortunately the request was denied. Some would say that both heads of the PNP and AFP are under the control of the control of the Ampatuans’, who are considered in Maguindanao as one of the strongest and most powerful political clan. They are even called as demigods, warlords, and above the law. They are one of the biggest and strongest political ally of the President, making them even more powerful politically. How can justice be serve when the President herself is not doing any actions to run after those cowards who ruthlessly slaughtered innocent civilians. This incident caught the attention of the entire nation, and people everywhere are shouting for justice and the only way that justice can prevail is for our head of state to stand up and drop her so called political ally and do what she is supposed to do; that is to serve her people, protect the country, and uphold the rule of the law. With this I would like to end by quoting Rep. Antonio Alvarez of Palawan, “The spiral of violence can only be stopped, justice served, and democracy honored if the full force of the law is applied without fear and favor.”