Maguindanao massacre victims’ kin: We’re losing hope

The Maguindanao Massacre crime scene (Photo by Dann Pantoja)

Manila—Five years after President Benigno Aquino III has promised resolution to the Maguindanao massacre, the families of the victims of the deadliest single election-related violence in the Philippine history are already losing hope that justice will prevail during Aquino’s term.

“We don’t know what’s happening about the cases against the accused,” Justice Now Movement (JNM) Secretary General Grace Morales was quoted as saying in a report by Inquirer.net.

Morales’ husband Rossell, and her sister Marites Cabilitas, were victims of the massacre.

Pres. Aquino seemed to have forgotten the promises he made during the 2010 presidential elections, said Morales.

The families of the victims are getting legal help from the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) prosecutors but the families were receiving updates from the DOJ regarding the case.

Gov. Esmael Mangudadatu of Maguindanao, whose wife and relatives were killed in the massacre, said in the same report how that verdict on the case has not been delivered after six years. He said that witnesses to the case have all been presented.

“It’s been six long, agonizing years. Where is justice?” asked Mangudadatu in the same report.

Mangudadatu told Inquirer.net that the last time he was in court was when Sajid Ampatuan, main suspect in the Maguindanao Massacre was to take the stand. However, Sajid’s counsel told the court that the suspect was suffering from a liver disease.

The families of the victims, including Morales once had Prima Quinsayas as their counsel. At that time, Quinsayas was working for the Freedom Fund for Filipino Journalists (FFFJ). The organization has eventually run out of funds. Today, Quinsayas works for the Office of the Regional State Prosecutor in Central Mindanao.

Despite the long years of waiting and scarcity on legal aid, Morales said that she is not giving up on the case.