MANILA — The National Press Club (NPC), the oldest and biggest national organization of active members of the press in the country, commemorated on Friday the 9th year anniversary of the gruesome Maguindanao massacre through a bloodletting activity participated in by government agencies and the private sector.
Before the start of the activity, a Mass was held in front of the massacre memorial commissioned by the group, at the NPC grounds in Intramuros, Manila.
“The purpose of the event is we want to give a different meaning dito sa nangyaring trahedya sa 34 na mamamahayag na bigyan natin ng positibong kahulugan ‘yun nangyaring massacre nine years ago (The purpose of the event is we want to give a different meaning to this tragedy involving 34 journalists. We want to see positivity despite the massacre that took place nine years ago),” NPC vice president Paul Gutierrez said in an interview.
After the Mass, the attendees lit candles at the memorial and released white balloons.
Gutierrez noted that aside from commemorating the incident through a humanitarian activity, they are looking to surpass the 144 bags of blood they collected from individuals who joined last year’s bloodletting activity in Quezon City.
“We seek to break our own record of 144 bags, which we established during last year’s bloodletting activity with Red Cross in Skydome at the SM North EDSA during the Marawi siege for the benefit of the soldiers and victims of the siege,” he added.
The NPC official also expressed support for the efforts of the government, particularly the Presidential Task Force on Media Security (PTFoMS), in solving the case.
President Rodrigo Duterte signed Administrative Order No. 1 creating the PTFoMS in October 2016 to address and resolve all forms of violence against all media workers. It is currently headed by former NPC president, Undersecretary Joel Sy Egco.
Among the participants in Friday’s activity were the National Capital Region Police Office of the Philippine National Police, Civil Relations Service of the
Armed Forces of the Philippines, the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology, Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Department of Labor and Employment, Citizens Crime Watch, United Architects of the Philippines, Manila Chapter, and various press groups in Metro Manila.