Gunmen slaughtered 58 people, including 32 journalists, and dumped their bodies in hastily dug pits as part of a mass killing that was one of the worst ever of media workers.
We are still awaiting a verdict ten years later.
it has to do with politics, money, and corruption of course.
The Ampatuans ruled the impoverished southern province of Maguindanao and were allowed to build a heavily armed militia by then president Gloria Arroyo to serve as a buffer against a long-running Muslim insurgency in the region. Prosecutors say family members and their associates carried out the attack in broad daylight on a convoy carrying an Ampatuan family rival's wife, relatives, lawyers and the journalists, who were killed in a hail of gunfire. With scores of witnesses and mountains of legal paperwork, the case has creaked through a Philippine justice system notoriously overburdened, underfunded and vulnerable to pressure from the powerful.
translation: They murdered someone who was going to run against them in the election: meaning if they lost, they couldn't steal all that "development" money being poured into the region to fight terrorism.
And then there was that "hello Garci" link. Many hint they helped Gloria steal the election,(the Hello Garci phone call was leaked to the press to accuse her). Read this 2011 article at Bulatlot.com:
And remember that lovely Gloria was released from jail by "human rights" types including Hillary's friend George Clooney's wife using the UN to say she was jailed for political reasons.
Gloria was a classmate of Bill, so must help friends? Who knows...
the AFP article notes that this is a headsup to see if the judicial system works.
Well it might work, but delays are common: The mayor who ordered the hit against his rival here that killed our nephew ten years ago (he was a bystander) remained free and died in his bed many years later and was buried with a big Catholic funeral, complete with Knights of Columbus body guard.
Sigh. There are good people in the government who try their best, but rule of law is still weak, and hey, even in the USA, people can postpone their court date for years trying to get off, so I shouldn't point fingers.
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update:
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