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show outrage: maguindanao massacre victims and families used as toys in political ping-pong
we think the press conference conducted by andal amaptuan jr., the principal suspect in the maguindanao massacre is an affront to filipino’s sense of dignity and a complete disrespect to the victims and families of the victims of the maguindanao massacre.
it was obviously a staged media stunt and the government allowed it to happen. in fact we think it could have only happened with the expressed complicity if not stage managed by the government itself and those who are in power who are against the candidacy of noynoy aquino.
there is no logical, no plausible and not even any commonsensical reason why the government allowed the press conference to be held. the topic of the press confernce :
- had nothing to do with the maguindanao massacre
- did not serve any positive purpose for the case
- did not seek to clarify or correct anything negative about the case
- has nothing to do with the judicial system
- did not address or put forward any wrong doing or mistreatment of the suspects
- had nothing to do with the case
what it was – the primary suspect thanked the DOJ chief agra and more importantly an announcement by the primary suspect of the massacre that their family supports the candidacy of noynoy aquino.
does the government routinely allow primary suspects of crimes to hold press conferences inside their jails? will we now witness a series of press conferences where suspects of crimes and criminals in jail will announce their support for the presidenitables and other candidates?
the government allowed or staged managed a media event that made use of the the death of the victims of the maguinadanao massacre and their families in a game of political ping pong.
37 lives were inhumanely cut, none of them and certainly none of the families of the victims and most specially the rest of the filipino people are interested to know who is the presidentiable the primary suspect is endorsing. knowing who the primary suspect is endorsing will not make our lives better nor will it make us feel justice has been served. and we are simply NOT interested.
ampatuan was given by the government a stage to say he is hopeful that aquino who is the front runner in this election if elected will give him and his family justice. those who allowed ampatuan to hold the press conference and say such things were all immune and did not care about those who were murdered in the maguindanao massacre, all of whom died for no reason and in a most horrific and undignified way.
with the press conference, the government gave the murder suspects a stage to play politics while the families of the victims of the maguindanao massacre continued to suffer and the memories of victims remain to be horrific, still embedded in their minds on how inhumane they all were murdered.
the government, the justice system and the jail wardens exist for the purpose of upholding the constitution and the laws of the country as they are duty bound to protect it’s citizens from harm. for this one – they catered to the whims and satisfied the primary suspect while the families of the victims were all left out in the cold, clutching nothing but pain, hurt and injustice.
for the government, those who staged managed and conceptualized the media stunt and the jail wardens:
- what good did it do?
- what positive benefit did we get?
- are we closer to giving justice?
- are we better informed about the case?
- are we more inspired to trust and believe in the justice system?
- are we better as a people?
what kind of people are those who conceptualized and staged managed the event? what kind of people are those who allowed this to happen?
197 charged in maquindanao massacre – finally!
this is a long time coming and we thought it was forgotten. we have known for long that justice moves slow in the philippines. but this one is ridiculous given the how gruesome the murders were and the kind of attention it got from the public. you would think with what happened and the intense interest of the people on the case, this will move much faster than what is happening now.
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197 charged with murder over Maguindanao massacre
Agence France-Presse, INQUIRER.net
First Posted 18:20:00 02/09/2010MANILA, Philippines—A former close ally of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and 196 other people were on Tuesday charged with murder over an election-linked massacre that horrified the nation, prosecutors said.
Andal Ampatuan Sr., the head of a Muslim clan and the former governor of Maguindanao province where the slaughter of 57 people occurred last year, was among those charged, according to papers filed in a Manila court.
In total, 197 people were charged, including other senior clan members, local government officials and policemen who allegedly helped organize the killings, as well as thugs accused of abducting and shooting the victims.
“The confluence of events before and immediately after the commission of the offense leads us to no other inference than that respondents Andal U. Ampatuan, Sr., Datu Zaldy “Puti” U. Ampatuan, Datu Akmad “Tato” Ampatuan, Sr., Datu Norodin Ampatuan, and Datu Jimmy Ampatuan connived with the actual perpetrators,” prosecutors said in a lengthy report outlining their case against the group.
“There is direct evidence that these respondents agreed to commit the crime,” said the prosecutors led by Senior State Prosecutors Leo Dacera. “All the conspirators are answerable as co-principals regardless of the extent or degree of their participation.”
However, only 11 of those charged are in custody, with most of the others still on the run nearly three months after the November 23 killings, according to police.
the ampatuans with free use of cellphones while in jail – allows them to plan an escape/rescue from their jail, intimidate witnesses, destroy evidence and access their bank accounts
Ampatuans ‘VIPs’ in jail
They have cell phones, catered meals in PNP camp
Inquirer Mindanao
First Posted 23:35:00 01/03/2010GENERAL SANTOS CITY—Even in their detention cell, the Ampatuans appear to live like kings.
The suspects in the Nov. 23 massacre of 57 people in Maguindanao apparently have mobile phones, catered meals, even someone who comes daily to clean their cell in the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) compound at the Philippine National Police headquarters at Camp Fermin G. Lira Jr.
Four members of the powerful clan that once enjoyed a close friendship with President Macapagal-Arroyo are being held at the CIDG lockup. Three are brothers—Zaldy Ampatuan, suspended governor of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao; Sajid Ampatuan, former acting governor of Maguindanao; and Anwar Ampatuan, mayor of Shariff Aguak. The other is their uncle—Akmad Ampatuan, vice governor of Maguindanao.
read in full here: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view/20100103-245345/Ampatuans-VIPs-in-jail
that was the headline story in today’s PDI. the headline story for tomorrow’s PDI will probably be this one – CIDG probes Ampatuans’ ‘VIP treatment’ in police camp. (click here to read in full: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/nation/view/20100104-245437/CIDG-probes-Ampatuans-VIP-treatment-in-police-camp).
to us, it did not make sense that detained suspects are allowed so much luxury such as catered food. the use of cellphones to us in particular is the most stupid of the VIP privileges given to the ampatuans.
with the cellphone, the ampatuans while inside the jail can call anyone, including people who they can direct on what to do to hide evidence, tamper with evidence, talk and even intimidate witnesses.
one of the reasons why suspects are detained is to give the investigators a free hand to collect evidence and look for witnesses. having the suspects detained inhibits the freedom of the suspects to do any of those. giving them cellphones makes it all very easy for them to do just that.
the ampatuans can have the most sophisticated cellphones and it will allow them to use the internet, allowing access to almost anything not only limited to email or websites for general information but more importantly their bank accounts. they can transfer funds, close accounts and do almost anything to their bank accounts.
almost all cellphones have cameras and that means they also have the ability to make not only audiol but visual contacts with the outside world. with built in cameras in cellphones and even webcams on the other side, they can even have teleconferences, and do picture and video sharing.
the activities that have been allowed to the ampatuans with the use of the cellphone are not just limited to activities that will enable them to take an active role in winning the cases that will be filed against them through evidence hiding/tampering and witness intimidation, they can also plan and give intelligence information to their private armies outside of the jail to help them escape from detention.
videos and pictures of the jail the ampatuans are in, the layout of their cells and the jail itself , the kind of security equipment inside their cells may be transmitted to the outside world so that they can plan a flawless escape from their detention. the point of jailing them is to prevent escape. the ability to send our videos and pictures of the jail they are in keeps no secrets from any group who will want to free the ampatuans from their jail cell.
all of the above are very possible and yet the CIDG chief sees there is nothing wrong with it. (read in full here: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/nation/view/20100104-245492/Nothing-wrong-with-Ampatuans-VIP-treatmentCIDG-chief)
we think this CIDG chief, should be fired from his job and jailed himself as soon as possible.
“I don’t think we can consider those as violations or special treatment,” Director Raul Castañeda, Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) chief, told the Philippine Daily Inquirer on Monday.
zaldy ampatuan calls on a “friend”, gloria macapagal arroyo. arroyo is his alibi and malacanang confirms the alibi – maguindanao massacre update
zaldy ampatuan
the efforts at finding justice for the maguindanao massacre victims is to say the least taking a very bizarre twist and they are very disturbing – zaldy ampatuan, one of the main suspects in the massacre is making president arroyo his alibi, saying he was with arroyo in malacanang during the day of the massacre.
Zaldy Ampatuan, former governor of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), had claimed that he and Representatives Yusop Jikiri and Munir Abison and other political leaders of Sulu were in Malacañang on Nov. 23 to discuss with Ms Arroyo how to resolve the electoral conflicts in the province.
malacanang does not deny the meeting took place. in fact malacanang confirmed the meeting took place, it was just that arroyo attended the meeting briefly.
Press Secretary Cerge Remonde confirmed this in a radio interview but said that Ms Arroyo attended the meeting only briefly. He also said that she had since severed her ties with the Ampatuans.
remonde based on his statement has actually confirmed the alibi of ampatuan as true. remonde said the meeting did take place, it was just that arroyo was in the meeting briefly. that to me confirms ampatuan’s alibi and that can mean the case of the government against zaldy ampatuan may mean a dismissal of the charges.
we have not read the affidavit that ampatuan executed and thus we do not know exactly what he said there. we have also not read the charge sheet the government has lodged against this ampatuan.
just based on this news article, it seems malacanang is attacking the issue at a very wrong angle and at an angle that gives room for ampatuan to be freed.
ampatuan is raising two issues in his affidavit : (a) he was not at the place of the massacre when it occured, he was at malacanang and (b) arroyo can attest to his innocence.
As for Zaldy Ampatuan’s claim that Ms Arroyo could attest to his innocence, Bello said: “That’s his claim. It’s up to the President to either affirm or validate it, contradict or repudiate it.”
gloria macapagal arroyo and "friend" zaldy ampatuan at her left
based on their statement here, malacanang placed a lot of effort at disassociating arroyo from ampatuan. they are making a big deal on their claim that ties have been severed with the ampatuans.
they have not done that satisfactorily, as even cabinet secretary bello said it will be up to arroyo to confirm or deny that ties have been severed with the ampatuans.
i do not understand malacanang’s obsession on that point. ties or no ties, the most important part is to get a conviction of the ampatuan. what is more important is to establish the whereabouts of ampatuan if the government’s case on the ampatuans is centered on an allegation that he is at the scene of the crime or that meetings among the accused occurred on that day. it really does not matter from a conviction standpoint whether ties have been severed or not. that will not matter in court.
it looks like malacanang seem to think it matters a lot perhaps on the point of view public opinion or image building for the president. malacanang seem to be still smarting from the big time screw up of lorelei fajardo, ex-presidential spokesperson who said that arroyo continue to be “friends” with the ampatuans even after the massacre. (read here, click: lorelei fajardo, presidential spokesman quits or fired? or this one: Memo To: Gloria Macapagal Arroyo – fire Lorelei Fajardo, the Maguindanao Massacre aftermath)
malacanang seem to have forgotten the most important point and this point is what may set ampatuan free – where was ampatuan during the day of the massacre?
the government indictment seem to say he was at the scene of the crime. ampatuan claims he was not there but he was with arroyo in malacanang meeting with her. remonde’s statement seemed to have confirmed the alibi made by ampatuan.
i don’t get it – why would the lawyers of the government include in their charge sheet an allegation that ampatuan was at the scene of the crime when it appears he was not there? an alibi that says the accused is with the president of the country in a meeting in malacanang seems pretty strong to me.
it does not seem likely that ampatuan will use an alibi, being with the president, if he it is not true and if it cannot be proven. it is an alibi that can easily be proven false if it really did not occur. this is the president of the country, the courts will of course believe the president.
the paper trail on the meeting occurring must be long and solid. there will be airline tickets, hotel bills, the malacanang guest list and of course photos of the meeting.
there is so much irony here.
- we have the potential of this ampatuan being saved by the president of the country, the one person who is supposed to want ampatuan in jail, if the alibi is proven true
- if the alibi is proven true, ampatuan, the alleged mass murderer will be proven to be telling the truth while the president of the country or at least malacanang will be proven as telling a lie
- if the alibi is proven true, it will mean the statement of the president of the country will enable ampatuan to walk free
- the government prosecutors and investigators will be showing in a grand scale their incompetence in this case – for including a false allegation in their charge sheet
- if arroyo’s statement proves the alibi is true, then the friendship between arroyo and ampatuan will be proven in court as truth
- in that case, fajardo should have not been fired. why fire a person for telling the truth?
‘Up to court to call Arroyo on alibi of Ampatuans’
By Jocelyn Uy, Norman Bordadora, TJ Burgonio
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 01:16:00 12/31/2009MANILA, Philippines—Malacañang on Wednesday shrugged off the Ampatuan family’s denial of involvement in the Nov. 23 massacre of 57 people in Maguindanao.
“These are matters subject to rules of evidence and testimony, so it’s difficult for us to comment. It’s up to the courts to determine the truthfulness of the claims of the Ampatuans,” Gary Olivar, one of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s spokespersons, told the Inquirer by phone.
Zaldy Ampatuan, former governor of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao
(ARMM), had claimed that he and Representatives Yusop Jikiri and Munir Abison and other political leaders of Sulu were in Malacañang on Nov. 23 to discuss with Ms Arroyo how to resolve the electoral conflicts in the province.Press Secretary Cerge Remonde confirmed this in a radio interview but said that Ms Arroyo attended the meeting only briefly. He also said that she had since severed her ties with the Ampatuans.
Alibi
Cabinet Secretary Silvestre Bello III, also a member of the ruling party and a former justice secretary, said the ARMM governor was laying down an alibi by claiming that he was at the Palace at the time of the massacre.
As for Zaldy Ampatuan’s claim that Ms Arroyo could attest to his innocence, Bello said: “That’s his claim. It’s up to the President to either affirm or validate it, contradict or repudiate it.”
Bello also said that it was up to the courts to decide whether or not to summon Ms Arroyo in order to determine the veracity of Zaldy Ampatuan’s claim.
“Whether you’re an ally or not, it has no significance to the case. If you’re found guilty, you should suffer the consequences of your misbehavior,” Bello said in reaction to observations that the ARMM governor’s claim had revived reports of the Ampatuans’ close ties to the President.
The Ampatuans were long-time political allies of the President.
“Unfortunately, I wasn’t there at the meeting. There was no way of validating the claim of Ampatuan. My assumption is he’s laying the ground for his defense. That’s part of his defense, which is an alibi,” said Bello by phone, adding:
“If it’s true, he has a right to say it. If it’s not true, that will later be established.”
maguindanao massacre in dvd – wth???
DAVAO CITY — Bootleg digital video disc (DVD) copies of the “Maguindanao Massacre 11/23/09,” are now being sold underground in many parts of Mindanao, according to those who have seen the “film.”
The Philippine Daily Inquirer was able to get a copy of the DVD. Running over four hours, the DVD showed the actual retrieval of the bodies from the massacre site at Barangay Salman, Ampatuan town, Maguindanao.
It showed the blood-soaked, bullet-riddled and mutilated bodies of the Ampatuan massacre victims. Most of the footage had graphic images of body parts protruding from the earth.
The origin of the Maguindanao Massacre DVD is not known but a DVD vendor in Koronadal City said he got his stocks from a supplier in General Santos City.
The INQUIRER secured a copy of the film, sold at P120, from a vendor who requested that he be not named, saying he feared for his life.
“Please don’t tell anyone that you got it from me…I only gave you this because I trust that you will not tell that it came from me. It’s scary,” the vendor said, referring to the movie. “Nakakatakot…sobrang nakakatakot. At nakakadiri (It’s really scary and it’s gross),” he said.
The vendor indicated he was also scared of the Ampatuan family, whose key members have been charged in connection with the massacre and were the erstwhile allies of Malacañang.
The material contained the first two days of the retrieval operations conducted by the authorities after the November 23 abduction and grisly murder of at least 57 civilians, 31 of them journalists and the rest close relatives and supporters of Buluan Vice Mayor Esmael Mangudadatu, a Maguindanao gubernatorial candidate running against the Ampatuans in the 2010 elections.
It is not clear whether the content of the DVD was from the documentation done by the team that conducted the retrieval operations.
The DVD opened with the convoy of the retrieval operations team that traveled to the dumping site in Barangay (village) Salman. Immediately after, the amateur camera captured the yellow backhoe excavator that had the marking “Under the Administration of Datu Andal Ampatuan Sr.”
For more than four hours, the camera focused on the excavation of the victims. First to be exhumed was a woman, believed to be one of the lawyers of Buluan Vice Mayor Esmael Mangudadatu, who wore a brown-striped blouse.
A man was later overhead as saying: “Sino ito? Si attorney? Sige…kunin na ang lahat kasi lahat tayo ay kapamilya na dito eh.”
After the first body was recovered, a man was also overheard as saying: “May ara pa (Are there still more)?”
“May ara pa gid. Marami yan sila dyan…(There would surely be more. There are a lot of them buried there),” another man answered.
When the body of a woman, wearing a green blouse and yellow pair of pants, was exhumed, a voice was heard saying: “Ka-daming tama…”
And judging from the looks of the victim, the same man suspected that she may have been sexually abused.
There were at least eight men who were exhuming the bodies, using shovels and their bare hands alternately. The film showed the lousy and slipshod retrieval of bodies and evidence, done by non-experts. It was only in the latter part of the first day and the second day that police experts got to work in the retrieval operations.
When shovels and bare hands proved to be slowing down the retrieval, the authorities later decided to use the backhoe to dig the grave where the victims were dumped. It was then that more and more bodies were found, including that of Mangudadatu town Vice Mayor Eden Mangudadatu, sister of Esmael.
Eden was immediately identified by the men involved in the diggings. A mobile phone was also recovered and a man was overheard as saying that “gitago nya sa loob ng sapatos. (she hid it inside her shoe).”
The Day 2 of the DVD opened with the diggings now aided mainly by the backhoe. It was on the second day that the retrieval operations teams dug up the vehicles, which were also dumped into the grave in an apparent effort to hide evidence.
And when more bodies were recovered, a male voice said: “Buti pa yong manok na panabong kahit na kargado sa gamot, kapag di na tumutuka ang kalaban, din na papaluin…” (Fighting cocks are treated better.)
In Koronadal City, a Maranao vendor said he has run out of copies of the DVD.
He said they have been selling it for P120 per copy, and even bragged about the clarity of the DVD he sold as the material was taken by members of the Scene of the Crime Operatives of the Philippines National Police.
“I’m expecting my order to arrive anytime tomorrow. The one you’re holding is a clear copy because members of SOCO filmed it,” he said in Filipino.
Janice Cabasag, 29, a resident here, told the Inquirer that she managed to procure a clear copy from a vendor for only P70.
Cabasag said the DVD contained footage of the actual retrieval of the bodies in the village of Salman.
“Looking at those images of death, I can feel the pain of the families who lost their loved ones. Those who did it are demonic,” she said.
Mario Alasin, who maintains a small restaurant here, also told the Inquirer that his staff bought a copy, but he had refrained from seeing the footage.
In Parang town in Maguindanao, Norma Cantal, admitted she bought the same copy at the public market.
When asked about the sale of the DVD, Corazon Cabillio, wife of slain journalist Jimmy, said she has heard about the DVD but has not seen a copy. Cabillio said she was interested in getting a copy.
amapatuan jr. gets stabbed… with a camera lens! who the hell forgot to bring the knife?
when i saw the headline and the headline photos in today’s PDI, i thiought geez 
there are so many angry protesters in that hearing! i was shocked to find out that the ones who mobbed andal ampatuan jr. at yesterday’s hearing in the quezon city courts were not activists but media men!
that must have been quite a sight! ordinarily, it’s the protesters on one side, the subject and the police on the other and media men on the sides or at the back of both groups. in this one, the media people were right there in front of andal amparuan jr.!
we cannot blame media – so many of them died in the maguindanao massacre. i do not think there enough words to describe why what happened is so wrong in so many ways not only for the media people but for everyone else who were murdered on that day in maguindanao.
some of the protesters were shoving blown up pictures of the dead in the massacre on the face of ampatuan. that i think is just too mild for what was done. someone needs to cut those pictures in tiny pieces and,,,never mind.
do not get us wrong, we are not advocating violence on ampatuan jr. but we are advocating justice for all those who died. we think all 100+ killers and the mastermind/s should be arrested and punished.
there is another an even more interesting part of this story.
- From PDI: “Diaz said a cameraman hit the mayor in the forehead with a camera. The concussion—it was a big bump—bled. It was definitely deliberate,” Diaz said. “We really tried to secure the mayor but we found it hard when some members of the media acted this way,” he said.”
we like to file this protest against what Mr. Diaz said about this incident where he mistakenly refers to the picture above as “deliberate”. upon extensive forensick analysis of the picture, we do not think it is deliberate but rather any one or several of the following occurred:
- the camera man was just taking a super macro shot of ampatuan’s right eye for the record. he was given this assignment by his editor in the name of good journalism.
- then someone pushed the camera man and since the camera was heavy, it accidentally dropped on ampatuan’s face
- no camera man in his right mind will do that to his camera and risk damage to his primarily tool in his job, even this one – an old lens that has not been working and cracked for years now
- question – are there no camera lens that are as sharp as knives? or a lens that is as sharp as nail? memo to camera man: next time, please use the proper lens for shots like these.
- finally, who the hell forgot to bring a knife????? aren’t knives standard issue to camera men too?
lorelei fajardo, presidential spokesman quits or fired?
WAWAM! after hours' post on lorelei fajardo
we have written about lorelei fajardo, one of our favorite spokespersons of president arroyo in this blog last december 1 (read here: Memo To: Gloria Macapagal Arroyo – fire Lorelei Fajardo, the Maguindanao Massacre aftermath).
we just read a news article saying she has quit being the presidential spokesman of president arroyo. (read article here: http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/12/18/09/fajardo-quits-deputy-presidential-spokesman)
we do not know if arroyo or anyone in malacanang reads this blog, but we think getting fajardo fired, err to accept her resignation, according to this news article a “career choice” is the right thing to do.
it is this statement of hers which is the basis of our recommendation to president arroyo that t fajardo be fired from her job:
“I don’t think the President’s friendship with the Ampatuans will be severed,” Lorelei Fajardo, her deputy spokesperson, told reporters Thursday in Filipino. “Just because they’re in this situation doesn’t mean we will turn our backs on them.”
fajardo made that statement november 26, we wrote the piece on december 1, fajardo got fired, err she made the career move decenber 17. wow, that took a long time from the time she made the unfortunate declaration of how arroyo views loyalty to friends. 
this statement of fajardo has stuck in the mids of media people. i have read quite a number of articles written on the maguindanao massacre where many foreign media uses that statement as lead in to the kind of treatment the ampatuans are getting within the philippine judicial system. it really is a very unfortunate statement.
this firing err resignation of fajardo as presidential spokesman of arroyo has been carried by the major newspapers as well and it is quite interesting that each article included the fajardo’s statement on arroyo’s special friendship with the ampatuans. it looks like that statement of fajardo has made a lasting impression on the media outlets.
for myself i will be using that statement as a top example on “what not to do when you are presidential spokesman” when i do lectures or talks on PR or communication. now we are wondering what are the qualifications to get hired as spokespersons in malacanang?
just a note to end this peice – todate malacanang has not retracted the statement made by fajardo.
question need to be answered: how did the ampatuans amass so much arms and ammunition?
i think the question, “how did the ampatuans mass so much arms and ammunition?” deserves a separate and parallel investigation. this i think ranks very close in importance to the most important question on who were the killers of the 57 dead.
it’s shocking to read in the newspapers that military officers and men are shocked to see the kind and the number of arms and ammunition the ampatuans have. one of the officers even said the ampatuans have certain high powered arms that are very rarely used and very few elite members of the armed forces are able to use.
everyone are so amazed by the quality and quantity of the arms and ammo but we do not read enough news on exactly what the government are doing to find out how the ampatuans were able to get them. many of them are still in their shipping cartons with markings of the “Department Of National Defense” and the “AFP”. they obviously came from the AFP/DND itself.
the soldiers and police of the philippines themselves should push for a thorough investigation of this matter so that it can be plugged and stopped in the duture. they should be concerned it is these arms from the warlords who are killing the AFP soldiers and police in the fields. any military person know that one of the more effective ways to fight terrorists and rebels in mindanao is to deny them arms and ammo. without them, they obviously cannot wage war on the afp and the police.
but we have not heard anything from the government.
why senator miriam defensor loves cerge remonde so much
we take with keen interest senator miriam santiago’s point of view that cerge remonde should be “eliminated”. errr, we think senator santiago means remonde has to resign his day job of press secretary of the arroyo administration.
we have written about cerge remonde in this blog before, one was in reference to the OBOBS parade on the million peso dinner arroyo had in new york (read here: http://2010presidentiables.wordpress.com/category/cerge-remonde/) and the other on cerge remonde’s boob job booboo. not his boobs but president arroyo’s breast 
augmentation scandal. on the last one, one of the lesson learned is that cerge remonde makes it a point a point to look at the boobs of president arroyo. he has done it so often and might be on a regular basis because he was able to compare the size of president arroyo’s breasts to those of sexy showbiz stars. (read ans click here: the lessons arroyo’s breast implants taught us – cerge remonde looks at arroyo’s breasts)
we love to see where this love that santiago has on remonde will go. senator santiago is one of our favorites in the senate. we think she is one senator the country should never do without. but we can’t say the same thing on cerge remonde.
read in full here: Santiago calls Remonde ‘illiterate and ridiculous’
maguindanao martial law has no legal basis
we will be running a series of posts in this blog that will look into the governments action against the ampatuans in connection with the maguindanao massacre.
we will be picking up relevant quotations from news articles to collapse them into a whole.
For her part, Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago said the martial law declaration had no legal basis. Santiago noted the absence of an
actual rebellion and ideological motivation to rise up against the government. She also said that public safety was not endangered by the “crimes committed by the warlords.”
On the floor, Santiago explained that the framers of the 1987 Constitution envisioned actual, not imminent rebellion. Until yesterday, she said there was no media footage or pictures of two groups “shooting at each other.”
“The Constitution imposes two conditions for martial law; there should be a state of actual rebellion and public necessity requires it. These conditions do not exist today,” she said.
“Hence, I humbly submit this general test for constitutional martial law: Is martial law a necessity for the existence of the state? The answer is ‘No.’ I further submit this particular test: Is there an actual rebellion, and does public safety require martial law? Again, the answer is ‘No.’”
Santiago said the penal code defines the crime of rebellion as “rising publicly and taking arms against the government for the purpose of removing from the allegiance to said government or its laws.” In other words, she said rebellion was an open, organized and armed resistance to established government.
Santiago pointed out that PP 1959 did not even claim that there was a state of actual rebellion which, she said, was a “fatal flaw.”
She said the proclamation’s claim of “heavily armed groups in the province of Maguindanao have established positions to resist government troops” was not a condition contemplated by the Constitution.
Santiago also reminded the Cabinet officials that rebellion was a political offense, not a common crime and, thus, carried a lighter penalty than murder.
She said the essence of a rebellion was “ideological motivation,” and since it was absent there was no rebellion in the first place.
She later explained to reporters that the Ampatuans were neither “communists nor fascists” but mere warlords. “I say again, show me the rebellion,” she told her colleagues.
The second condition warranting martial law is that “public safety requires it,” she said.
“But crimes committed by warlords against each other are basically threats to the safety only of their respective camps,” Santiago said, suggesting that “what they constitute are not threats to public safety per se, but acts of terrorism.”
She said when two groups were quarreling, “they are not danger to public safety, but they are threat to each other.”
In a petition filed Thursday, Christian Monsod, a member of the 1986 Constitutional Commission and a former chair of the Commission on Elections, and Ateneo de Manila University lawyer Carlos Medina Jr. said there was no factual basis for Presidential Proclamation No. 1959 because there was no actual rebellion or invasion—the only grounds for martial law that are allowed under the Constitution.
In their petition, Monsod and Medina said there was “absolutely no factual or legal basis to support the finding of existence of rebellion.”
They said there was no declaration by the Ampatuans or their supporters of an intent to overthrow the government, or of any public uprising by them that would endanger public safety.
Monsod and Medina also said there was “no showing that the alleged failure to function of the local judicial system and other government mechanisms in Maguindanao endangered public safety.”
“It is evident that the President and respondent (Ermita) are desperately grasping at straws and ascribing political motive where there is clearly none,” they said.
“The mere presence of armed groups without a clearer statement as to their actual identity or purpose cannot be taken to inevitably and automatically imply the face of rebellion or invasion,” they said, adding:
“All there is, is a vague assertion that local governments and courts in the area have ceased, refused or have otherwise been unable to perform their functions.”
sources: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view/20091211-241312/Murder-raps-may-be-buried
maguindanao massacre: martial law may give the ampatuans free instead of gravest punishment
we will be running a series of posts in this blog that will look into the governments action against the ampatuans in connection with the maguindanao massacre.
we will be picking up relevant quotations from news articles to collapse them into a whole.
Rebellion can be a defense against murder charges.
Other senators warned that the imposition of martial law
could exonerate the Ampatuans from their involvement in the massacre of 57 people in the province on Nov. 23 because of warrantless arrests and seizures.
Gordon said Congress’ endorsement of Presidential Proclamation No. 1959 would provide the perpetrators of the massacre with a way to escape the heavier penalty for murder by embracing the rebellion charges.
Rebellion charges carry lighter penalties, he noted.
Gordon said the government might be letting others get away with the worst crimes and the worst penalty by claiming that the Ampatuans were engaged in rebellion.
“The scope of martial law is sweeping, and if this issue gets buried over time, they can be pardoned for their rebellion,” Gordon said.
“Aren’t we making a mistake? … (A)s a lawyer, I know that if we declare martial law is valid, and the suspension of habeas corpus is valid, and even if we charge them with multiple murders, Mayor Ampatuan and his lawyer will say Congress has declared martial law as valid, therefore, we are rebels,” Gordon said.
“And because we are rebels, you can only charge us with rebellion,” the senator said.
“The government is bungling the case. The evidence seized illegally cannot be used against the Ampatuans. Nowhere in the Constitution does it say that the right against illegal searches and seizure is suspended,” he said.
Martial law does not suspend the Bill of Rights, Pangilinan said.
In a statement, the FSGO aired concerns that the steps being taken by the government under martial law might be “successfully challenged” in the Supreme Court and eventually “allow the murderers to go scot-free” on technicalities.
“While seemingly answering the public clamor for justice for the victims, the Arroyo administration may be laying the foundation for justice to be denied,” the FSGO said. “It was murder in Mindanao, not rebellion. Being staunch allies of the Arroyo administration, it is incredible for the Maguindanao leaders to go against that administration,” it said.
read in full here: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view/20091211-241312/Murder-raps-may-be-buried
what is the real reason for declaring martial law in maguindanao?
we are publishing here this news article in full. we think this is a very important topic. this is next in wawam! after hours.
Bernas warns of amnesty for Ampatuans
By Cathy C. Yamsuan
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 03:47:00 12/09/2009
“Murder committed in pursuance of rebellion is not considered a separate crime and is therefore absorbed by the charge of rebellion. The government must take care to prove two separate offenses, that murder preceded the charge of rebellion and was not committed as part of it,” said Fr. Joaquin Bernas, SJ, a former dean of the Ateneo College of Law and a columnist of the Inquirer.
In an interview, Bernas noted that testimony gathered by investigators already included the confession of “a perpetrator who said the order given to them was to kill [the Mangudadatus]. There was no connection to rebellion [at that time].”
The government has arrested members of the Ampatuan clan of Maguindanao for the Nov. 23 massacre of 57 people.
Witnesses have tagged Datu Unsay Mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr. as the one who ordered the killings.
Mind testimonies
Bernas urged government prosecutors to pay attention to testimonies that the mayor had ordered the murders.
He noted that acting Justice Secretary Agnes Devanadera and President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, in her 20-page report to Congress, had alleged that rebellion was committed by the Ampatuans to justify the declaration of martial law in Maguindanao.
“Rebellion runs the risk of being granted amnesty, which can be pardoned by the President following final conviction,” said Bernas, who has been teaching criminal law since 1962.
Earlier, administration critics voiced fears that the rebellion charge against the Ampatuans might override the multiple murder charges stemming from the Maguindanao massacre.
“Murder done in pursuance of rebellion can then be absorbed in the rebellion charge. But if the murders were done separately, then these should be treated as a separate crime. If murder is committed before a rebellion, if it precedes the rebellion, it must be treated independently,” Bernas said.
Congress’ power
In the same interview, Bernas said Ms Arroyo was not allowed to extend the 60-day martial law declaration in Maguindanao without Congress’ consent.
He said Congress had the power to revoke martial law through a majority vote of the Senate and the House of Representatives voting jointly.
“Congress can also extend martial law if requested by the President, because [she] cannot do it on her own. If Congress wants to stop martial law, it can vote to do so. However, the Constitution is silent on how long Congress can extend martial law,” he said.
petitions filed at supreme court to nullify martial law in maguindanao
No factual basis
The petitioners all insisted that there was no factual basis for the martial law proclamation since there was no actual rebellion or invasion.
In their petition, Salonga et al. said Article VII Section 18
of the 1987 Constitution “limits the ground (to declare martial law) to rebellion and invasion” and “none of these grounds are existent.”
“Nowhere in Proclamation No. 1959 were the constitutive elements of rebellion proven or even alleged. For one, the alleged establishment of positions to resist government troops by heavily armed groups does not automatically amount to a public uprising—an essential element of the crime of rebellion,” they said.
Police matter
The petitioners insisted that the massacre was a “police matter” that has been addressed by the President’s declaration of a state of emergency.
They claimed that Ms Arroyo did not follow the “sequence of graduated powers” under the Constitution when she declared martial law and simultaneously suspended the writ of habeas corpus.
“Declaration of martial law through Proclamation No. 1959 is a classic example of recklessly resorting to a ‘strong medicine,”’ said Salonga and his fellow petitioners.
They pointed out that Ms Arroyo did not declare martial law to suppress the MILF, which reaches a far greater scope of influence than the Ampatuans.
They also said that not even former President Joseph Estrada declared martial law when his administration went on an all-out war against the MILF in 2000.
Dilangalen said mere “threats of rebellion” could not be a valid ground for the declaration of martial law and suspension of the writ of habeas corpus.
“There is absolutely no public uprising and taking up of arms against the government in the area covered by the assailed proclamation. It is, in fact, in the excluded area, said to be controlled by the MILF, that the elements of rebellion may be attendant,” he said.
read in full here: 5 petitions filed in SC to nullify martial law
many groups oppose martial law in maguindanao – martial law has no basis
we are printing here the voices of many groups who are opposed to the 
declaration of martial law im maguindanao. many of these groups are saying martial law was an over-kill, unnecessary with the country having enough laws to achieve the stated goals and it has no legal basis.
“The official, unanimous position is we see no legal and factual basis for martial law,” De Lima told the Philippine Daily Inquirer in a text message, following an emergency meeting by the CHR commissioners en banc Sunday morning.
De Lima said the CHR’s opposition to President Macapagal-Arroyo’s martial rule in the province was “because of its serious repercussions on the human rights situation in the area.”
read in full here: CHR chief sees no legal basis for martial law
The outspoken rector of the Bacolod Diocese’s San Sebastian Cathedral called on the Filipino people to stand up and oppose President Macapagal-Arroyo’s declaration of martial law in Maguindanao because it would set a dangerous precedent for the entire nation.
“President Gloria Arroyo is person obsessed and addicted to power, and absolute power corrupts absolutely, so martial law in her hands is very dangerous,” Fr. Felix Pasquin said.
There is no legal basis for the President to declare martial law, and it is also immoral,” Pasquin said, adding that it was an overreaction to the situation in Maguindanao.
read in full here: Priest slams Arroyo’s martial law
The Supreme Court disputed the government’s contention that the court system in Maguindanao was no longer functioning, one of the stated reasons for declaring martial law in the Central Mindanao province.
Lawyers, lawyers’ groups, Church prelates and the Commission on Human Rights also disputed whether the constitutional basis for declaring martial law—invasion or rebellion—was present in the Maguindanao situation.
Midas Marquez, the high court’s deputy administrator and spokesperson, said the cases involving the Maguindanao massacre that were filed before the Cotabato courts were moving forward.
He said it was the search warrants issued by the Kidapawan Regional Trial Court that made possible the police raids on the residences of Ampatuan family members, the suspected perpetrators of the massacre.
“This is far from a picture of a non-performing judicial system,” said Marquez.
read in full here: Supreme Court: No basis for martial law
Senators Benigno Aquino III, Alan Peter Cayetano, Francis Escudero, Panfilo Lacson, Loren Legarda, Jamby Madrigal and Francis Pangilinan separately questioned the President’s action which, Malacañang had said, was needed to quell a “rebellion in the offing” by forces loyal to the powerful Arroyo ally, the Ampatuan clan.
In a press conference late Saturday afternoon, Senators Aquino and Mar Roxas, the Liberal Party’s presidential and vice presidential candidates in 2010, said they were prepared to challenge the declaration of martial law before the Supreme Court.
read in full here: Senators oppose Arroyo’s martial law proclamation
maguindanao – the wealthy ampatuans rule over squalor and poverty
we are printing in full here this article, it says maguindanao is the 2nd poorest province in the country and yet the ampatuans, their family members controlling practically all of maguindabao live in wealth and comfort.
Wealthy Ampatuans rule over squalor
By Cecil Morella
Agence France-Presse
First Posted 14:51:00 12/06/2009SHARIFF AGUAK— Ulambay Sinsuat was grilling fish when armed troops poured into a pair of palatial homes near her hovel and detained two of the most powerful men in the southern Philippines.
As dawn turned to day, Sinsuat watched hundreds of residents flee when they realized Maguindanao province had been placed under martial rule following an election-linked massacre of 57 people blamed on the region’s ruling clan.
The troops’ targets were the clan’s chief and provincial governor Andal Ampatuan Sr, as well as one of his sons Zaldy Ampatuan, the head of a larger Muslim autonomous area in the southern Philippines.
But Sinsuat, a 44-year-old fishmonger, did not have the luxury of fleeing the provincial capital of Shariff Aguak on Saturday, illustrating a miserable rich-poor divide that critics say the Ampatuans perpetuated in Maguindanao.
“We can’t leave because we don’t have money,” Sinsuat told AFP as flies swarmed around her grilled carp and mudfish that lay unsold in the town’s near-deserted public market.
“We live just behind Governor Zaldy’s mansion. The smoke from grilling the fish would sometimes waft into his backyard. But our house is tiny, it’s just a hut.”
The Ampatuans’ mansions, with their huge courtyards containing fleets of pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles, are rare monuments to wealth in Maguindanao, officially ranked the country’s second poorest province.
The province is situated on one of the most fertile river valleys in the country, but it has no signs of industry or economic activity except for tiny farm plots and small public markets.
The roads that branch off from the main national highway, where sheep and geese cross, are rutted or unpaved, even though the local government receives and is meant to disburse tens of millions of dollars in tax revenues.
The Philippines’ economic planning ministry says 63 percent of Maguindanao’s population of 711,000 are poor, with 342,000 residents earning less than one dollar a day.
The area has been ruled virtually unchallenged by the Ampatuan patriarch for nine years, and he installed many of his relatives into top provincial posts during a reign critics say was characterized by violence and fear.
Sixteen out of the 22 towns have mayors belonging to the Ampatuan clan, with lesser posts also occupied by relatives and allies.
The national government, the clan’s close allies until the November 23 massacre, now accuse it of using state funds to arm hundreds of militia members, some of whom allegedly took part in the killings.
One clan member, Andal Ampatuan Jr, has been charged with 25 counts of murder and police have filed indictment papers saying the clan leaders detained in their mansions on Saturday should also be charged.
The nation’s human rights commissioner, Leila de Lima, said the Ampatuans’ reputation as warlords was widely known well before the massacre, which was allegedly carried out to stop a rival from running for governor next year.
Raids in Maguindanao following the declaration of martial law on Friday night have uncovered a stunning array of weapons and ammunition that the government insists the Ampatuans illegally amassed.
Documents that could show the Ampatuans rigged elections may also have been uncovered.
“We dug up bandoleers (shoulder belts for bullets) and documents over there yesterday,” said Private First Class Domingo Igat, pointing to a huge Ampatuan-owned warehouse across the road from the Shariff Aguak municipal hall.
“They included voters’ registration forms, voters’ identification cards. They tried to burn them before they buried them, but not all the documents were burnt.”
The Ampatuans had been close allies of President Gloria Arroyo and members of her ruling coalition for many years.
Their support helped Arroyo win the 2004 presidential election against popular movie star Fernando Poe, amid widespread allegations of poll cheating in Maguindanao.
The Ampatuans were expelled from the coalition only in the wake of the massacre and revelations of the clan’s activities in the media.
martial law declared in maguindanao – maguindanao massacre aftermath
click here to read article: Martial law declared in Maguindanao
with martial law declared in maguindanao the speed of justice will perhaps move faster and more will be arrested. there are 100+ killers that particiaped in the maguindanao massacre, so far only 3 suspects, all ampatuans have been arrested.
we think martial law is an over-kill and unnecessary – we have enough laws and government agencies working on the case to get everyone arrested but they are just moving too slow. we don’t know why but the results are just not coming in as fast i think the victims deserve.
let us hope that with martial law, things will move much faster.
maguindanao massacre photos. warning: gruesome photos, view at your own risk
posting in this blog these photos posted by eliza in the facebook group “Punish The Killers In The Maguindanao Massacre, Justice For The Victims”
WARNING:
these are gruesome pictures, proceed to view at your own risk.
click below, “read more”
Memo To: Gloria Macapagal Arroyo – fire Lorelei Fajardo, the Maguindanao Massacre aftermath
dear ms. arroyo,
you may have not noticed it yet, but this must be one of the most shocking faux pax in philippine PR history – lorelei fajardo, your own deputy spokesperson just put as “friends” with the ampatuan family, today’s most hated family, evil personfied. the ampatuans are the primary suspects in one of the country’s most gruesome mass murder.
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is maintaining her ties with the powerful Ampatuans despite their expulsion from the ruling
party and the filing of multiple murder charges against one of them in connection with the Nov. 23 massacre of at least 57 people in Maguindanao province.
“I don’t think the President’s friendship with the Ampatuans will be severed,” Lorelei Fajardo, her deputy spokesperson, told reporters Thursday in Filipino. “Just because they’re in this situation doesn’t mean we will turn our backs on them.”
spokespersons aside from being your voice to media are supposed to be good at turning negatives into at least neutral if not positive (“spin”) and /or putting you in a good light.
that statement of fajardo does not do any of it. in fact what it did was the exact opposite – it has associated you with the country’s biggest negative in history and it put you in a very bad light.
mrs. president, fajardo just said you are friends with evil!
it is really very hard to understand why fajardo will ever think what she said was anything good in any way.
her intent was to uphold the value of “loyalty to friends”? to paint a picture of you as someone who sticks to her friends, no matter what.
while she was upholding loyalty to friendship, what about the value of human life, 57 of them allegedly taken by the ampatuans? what about torture, rape 
and the wholesale killings of the innocent? fajardo does not find these to be more important than “loyalty to friends”?
you are the president of the country, certainly the set of values or your priorities in life should always be biased towards our laws, the constitution and what is best for the greater good.
what fajordo said is the exact opposite of what you are supposed to be. in its most bare essence, her job is supposed to be good things if not great things; good vibes if not admiration and what sounds right if not what is right. fajardo did not do any of that in her statement.
now we are wondering what is lorelei fajardo’s job when she said that? is her job (a) to spin what is bad into at least neutral if not good or (b) is she being true to her role as your spokesperson.
what we have written here so far is on the first one, letter (a). so we now ask – did fajardo say the real you?
we would strongly recommend that you fire lorelei fajardo from her job before she causes you more damage. the saying – “with friends like fajardo, who needs enemies?”
sincerely yours,
~wawam~
read latest, click here: lorelei fajardo, presidential spokesman quits
maguindanao massacre: backhoe operator is named – Hanid Delayudin
this man, HANID DELAYUDIN, reportedly the backhoe operator is of particular interest to us. i think the backhoe operator in this mass murder crime is one of the most evil among them.
he was tasked to hide the evidence and proceeded to dig earth and bury the dead, including the vehicles the victims rode in.
i know this is being asked of all the killers, but i think this question has special meaning for this man – how could he have done what he did?
how can a man with a soul scoop up 57 dead bodies and bury them? did he think it was part of his job, just another day at work? how much was he paid to do his job during the day? is there a price that can compensate for such a task?
we hope the authorities catch up with him very soon. we would like to know how he looks like. we want to see his eyes to see for ourselves the eyes of evil.
Backhoe operator in Maguindanao massacre named
By Abigail Kwok
INQUIRER.net
First Posted 16:01:00 11/27/2009MANILA, Philippines – (UPDATE) Police identified Friday the supposed operator of the backhoe found at the crime scene that was reportedly used to dig shallow graves for the more than 50 victims of the carnage in Maguindanao province.
Senior Superintendent Ericson Velasquez, chief of the Criminal Investigation and Detective Division, identified the operator as Hanid Delayudin, who remains missing as of this time.
Based on their interview with Engineer Landap Gunaid, the provincial engineer of Maguindanao, Velasquez said Delayudin failed to report to work on Tuesday, a day after the killings.
Because of this, Delayudin, a regular employee at the provincial engineer’s office, is now considered a suspect, Devanadera said.
“He was the assigned operator of the backhoe for that day. He has a lot to explain. Malaki ang maitutulong niya kung lulutang siya at magpapaliwanag kung bakit andun ang backhoe niya [He will be a great help if he will surface to explain why his backhoe was there],” Velasquez told reporters.
Based on records of the Maguindanao provincial engineer’s office, the backhoe found at the crime scene has been issued out since November 4 for a project in the area and was supposed to be returned on November 20, a Friday. The killings happened on Monday.http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/nation/view/20091127-238727/Backhoe-operator-in-Maguindanao-massacre-named
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