Peace and Public Security

The Ampatuans of dirt-poor Maguindanao

Shamefully rich, clan has
35 houses, fleet of wheels

by Carolyn O. Arguillas/Mindanews

It has been four months since the massacre in Maguindanao, in which the alleged main perpetrators are members of a rich and powerful clan. Until their detention, the principal suspects in the murder of 57 people on November 23, 2009 lived in mansions in the country’s third poorest province, in neighboring cities, and even in Metro Manila.

How they acquired their supposedly fabulous fortune cannot be explained in the documents submitted by the public officials among them. But an unbridled access to public monies may be one of the keys to the puzzle, as is the willingness of national government officials to tolerate even the excesses of a political ally.

Read more... | Posted Sunday, March 28th, 2010

68 Ampatuans, 15 Mangudadatus
dominate Maguindanao elections

by Carolyn O. Arguillas, MindaNews

DAVAO CITY – The Ampatuans, Mangudadatus, Midtimbangs, Sinsuats, Masturas, Sangkis comprise the majority among Maguindanao’s 879 candidates running for 374 posts: two congressional representatives to Congress, one governor, one vice-governor, 10 provincial board members, 36 mayors, 36 vice mayors and 288 municipal board members or councilors.
The Ampatuans lead the list of candidates with 50 carrying [...]

Read more... | Posted Monday, February 8th, 2010
Fear, terror, poverty mix in Maguindanao

Arroyo, Ampatuans mocked agencies in crafty power play

by Ed Lingao

A FEW weeks after the Maguindanao massacre, Lt. Gen. Raymundo Ferrer, chief administrator of martial law in the area, received an unusual call on his cell phone.

On the other end of the line was a trusted aide of Datu Zaldy Uy Ampatuan, who was days earlier replaced as governor of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM). Zaldy was one of several members of the Ampatuan clan jailed on charges of rebellion, stemming from the November 23 carnage that left at least 57 people dead.

Read more... | Posted Thursday, February 4th, 2010
Sidebar

Power is Family

At least 44 officials in the Maguindanao and the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao are Ampatuans. After the massacre of 57 people, including 31 journalists, on November 23, 2009, only a few had been ousted from office. They include brothers Zaldy, Andal Jr and Sajid Islam, all sons of Ampatuan patriarch Andal Sr. The Ampatuans remain a force to reckon with in Maguindanao, their hold on political power has grown roots so deep and so extensive.

Read more... | Posted Thursday, February 4th, 2010
Why poor Maguindanao is awash with weapons of war

Ampatuans used public office
to amass mostly illegal guns

by Ed Lingao

IN JULY last year, Philippine National Police officers from the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (PNP-ARMM) met with representatives from the Arms Corporation of the Philippines (Armscor) for what should have been a fairly straightforward transaction.

The PNP was buying half a million rounds of 5.56-mm ammunition, the kind used by the police and military for the M-16 rifle. The purchase and delivery papers indicate that the bullets were meant for deployment to war-torn Sulu.

Read more... | Posted Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010
Video

Journalists cry out for justice

by Ed Lingao

Journalists, media workers, and activists march to Mendiola to demand justice for colleagues slain in the Maguindanao Massacre. Read the story.

Read more... | Posted Thursday, December 10th, 2009
PHOTO GALLERY

Journalists turn rallyists for Maguindanao massacre victims

by Karol Ilagan

ON the eve of the observance of International Human Rights Day (December 10), journalists and media workers took to the streets in Mendiola, a stone’s throw from the seat of political power that is Malacanang Palace, in rage and grief. Their common call: Justice for the 57 victims of the November 23 Maguindanao Massacre, that [...]

Read more... | Posted Thursday, December 10th, 2009

Report of the Humanitarian
and Fact-Finding Mission
to Maguindanao

A report by the fact-finding team organized by the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ) for the Freedom Fund for Filipino Journalists (FFFJ) on the killing of at least 30 journalists/media practitioners in the Maguindanao massacre.

The team was composed of representatives from the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP), the Davao-based news organization MindaNews, the PCIJ, the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR) and the FFFJ.

Read more... | Posted Thursday, December 3rd, 2009

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
FFFJ Mission

The 30 Media Martyrs
of Maguindanao

by the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism

THERE WERE 30 and not just 27 reporters and media workers who were killed in a manner brutal beyond description in Maguindanao, last Monday November 23.

The 30 media workers comprise more than half of the 57 confirmed casualties of what is now known as the Maguindanao Massacre, according to a list compiled and verified by the Humanitarian and Fact-Finding Mission of the Freedom Fund for Filipino Journalists (FFFJ), a network of independent media organizations, including the PCIJ.

Read more... | Posted Sunday, November 29th, 2009

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