Maguindanao Rep. Esmael Mangudadatu on Wednesday said he hoped the court will rule in favor of victims of the Maguindanao massacre, the worst election-related mass killings in the country when it promulgates its decision today.
On Nov. 23, 2009, the wife of Mangudadatu, her sister, lawyer and other relatives, and 38 journalists were on their way to Shariff Aguak to watch him file his certificate of candidacy for the gubernatorial race in the 2010 local elections.
Mangudadatu said the justice system has been “a bit slow” for the Maguindanao massacre victims, who have had to wait more than 10 years for a decision.
“I feel that the resolution of the case took time,” Mangudadatu said.
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Reps. Robert Ace Barbers of Surigao del Norte and Manuel Luis Lopez of Manila expressed Mangudadatu’s hope that the court will rule in their favor.
“We are praying for justice to be served and that he will be given the strength to accept the verdict whatever that will be,” said Barbers, chairman of the House committee on dangerous drugs.
Barbers said the Maguindanao massacre “is the most gruesome mass murder in our history and that the perpetrators of such morbid crimes deserve a morbid punishment, too.”
“It looks like the decision would favor the family of the victims brought about by the consistent testimonies of the several witnesses, particularly the story on the involvement of Datu Unsay in the ordering of the massacre,” Barbers said.
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Rep. Ron Salo of the Kabayan Party-list pushed for the passage of a bill providing “just compensation and benefits for media workers.”
“To address the plight of workers in the news media, I see the need for a just minimum wage and basic benefits for photojournalists, correspondents, reporters, contributors, writers, and their colleagues. I believe a just minimum wage for the news media will help protect them from sectors and personalities who seek to corrupt them,” said Salo, vice chairman of the House Committee on Human Rights, said.
“As the Maguindanao massacre proves, the news media encounter dangers and high risks in their daily work. Reporters and broadcasters are particularly vulnerable to life-threatening situations. They must have ample protections in our laws,” he added.
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Salo also said he will ask the Supreme Court for a comprehensive set of rules on media coverage of the courts.
“To support press freedom, I will soon petition the Supreme Court for the issuance of en banc resolution or an administrative memorandum or a circular about media coverage of trials nationwide, so that community journalists can have access to the courts under reasonable rules to be issued either by the Supreme Court itself or by the Office Of The Court Administrator,” Salo, chairman of the House committee on public information, said.
“The court coverage on Dec. 19 would be the benchmark for future media coverage of court cases,” Salo said.
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Rep. Jocelyn Tulfo of ACT-CIS said the Maguindanao massacre and the trial brought to the forefront of national consciousness the high-risk lives of journalists, especially those entrenched in conflict areas like Maguindanao, where mostly political warlords hold sway over the lives of residents.”
Tulfo is the author of HB 2476 which provides for death, disability, and Social Security System or Government Service Insurance System benefits, as well as reimbursement for medical expenses up to P100,000.
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“For media firms that hire and comply, HB 2476 has an allowable deduction provision equivalent to 25 percent of the benefits paid to their media workers,” Tulfo said.