Maguindanao in Context

The Maguindanao Massacre,
the Bangsamoro Problem
and the Peace Process

by Soliman M. Santos, Jr.

As a peace advocate who has considered Muslim Mindanao as my second region (after Bicol), I join so many others in their shock at and condemnation of what is now called the Maguindanao Massacre of 23 November 2009, likewise in expressing sympathies for the close relatives and friends of those who were killed, especially two fellow human rights lawyers, and calling for speedy justice and other necessary measures of redress and reform. There will never be enough words to describe this almost unbelievably depraved and inhuman incident.

Read more... | Posted Monday, November 30th, 2009
Covering Maguindanao

Terror, fear hinder journalism

by Jaileen F. Jimeno

THERE was a time my colleagues at the PCIJ threatened to print shirts that said “I am not JJ” in front and “Neither is she my friend” at the back.

The (hopefully) feigned betrayal stemmed from the stories I was writing at the time about the Ampatuan clan, how its members wielded power, and the sorry state of public education in the province of Maguindanao.

Read more... | Posted Wednesday, November 25th, 2009

Putting Maguindanao in context

by Ed Lingao

It is the seat of Bangsamoro pride and the heartland of the Moro Sultanate. But as authorities slowly unearth the events that unfolded along a remote stretch of highway Monday morning, November 23, Maguindanao province now holds the distinction of having the worst single case of election violence in recent Philippine history.

As of Monday night, authorities have found at least 21 mutilated bodies in Masalay, Datu Abdullah Sangki town in Maguindanao. They are believed to belong to a group of 50 people, including 30 local journalists, that departed Buluan town earlier in the day to witness the filing of the certificate of candidacy of gubernatorial hopeful Ishmael Mangudadatu at the Comelec office in Shariff Aguak, Maguindanao.

Read more... | Posted Tuesday, November 24th, 2009
Sidebar

Young guns, young terror

by Jaileen F. Jimeno

In this issue:

Gloria’s inglorious record: Biggest debtor, least popular
The economy
Misplaced government spending worsens woes
‘Dubious’ oil price hikes hurt the poorest most
Romulo L. Neri: Can golf, realpolitik work at SSS?
Perspectives
That bumpy ride called democracy
First person: August 21, 1983
A million came for Ninoy as reporters battled with censors
On the 25th year of the Aquino assassination
Noynoy, [...]

Read more... | Posted Thursday, September 4th, 2008
Public Eye

Amid the fighting, the clan rules in Maguindanao

by Jaileen F. Jimeno

MAGUINDANAO — The sound of sirens precedes the passing of a long convoy of 4×4 sport utility vehicles. As if on cue, jeepneys and private vehicles begin moving to the right side of the street, where they all then ground to halt.

“Kailangan tumabi ka, kasi babanggain ka nila. Palalabasin nilang kaaway ka (You have to get out of their way, otherwise they’ll hit your car. And then they’ll make it appear you’re one of their enemies),” explains an old man watching the scene by the roadside.

Read more... | Posted Thursday, September 4th, 2008
Millennium Development Goals

Maguindanao, RP fall behind key indicators for education

by Jaileen F. Jimeno

A TOWN IN MAGUINDANAO — Ten-year-old Dino and two younger boys were harassing a hapless chicken under a neighbor’s nipa house. Covered with dust, the boys obviously hadn’t had a bath just yet that day, and had chosen to go after the chicken while other children in this village trooped to a nearby river to soak and to play.

It looked like a typical village scene — only that it was the middle of a school day and Dino (not his real name) and many of the children should have been in class. But the classrooms in Dino’s school were shuttered because its four teachers were attending a meeting in the capital.

Read more... | Posted Wednesday, May 14th, 2008
Focus on the Filipino youth: The Lost Generation

Growing up female and Muslim

by Samira Gutoc

BEFORE ME was an Islamic religion studies graduate, an aleema who divorced her aleem (Islamic learned man) husband (for beating her up. She was lecturing on significant Muslim women in Islamic history. So far she had taken up the Prophet Muhammad’s wife Khadija and daughter Aisha. Today’s topic: Madina’s Umu Sulaim Rumaisa. All were women of virtue whose lives could give us insights on what a Muslim woman should aspire to.

Read more... | Posted Friday, September 2nd, 2005

The other Mindanao

by Howie G. Severino

(photos taken from video footage shot by Severino and Egay Navarro)

A Muslim woman supervisor at a banana-processing plant in Maguindanao
KABACAN, Cotabato — Last time I was here, in 1997, a body was dumped by the Army in front of the municipal hall, while nearly a dozen truckloads of troops rumbled by. A battle with Moro [...]

Read more... | Posted Friday, January 25th, 2002

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