Monday, November 30, 2009
Thursday, November 26, 2009
National Day of Mourning
National Day of Mourning for the victims of the massacre.
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Ampatuans not ‘untouchable’ -- Ermita
Palace plans disarming political clan
MANILA, Philippines -- Under fire for allegedly taking it easy on the Ampatuan clan, Malacañang declared on Wednesday that President Macapagal-Arroyo’s political debt of gratitude would not keep the government from going after the family in connection with the Maguindanao massacre.
No less than Ms Arroyo acknowledged that the mass killings had something to do with the political rivalry in the province and vowed that, “the perpetrators will not escape justice.”
Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said the government was preparing to “disarm” the Ampatuans, who boast of a large private armed group that has control over territories in Maguindanao.
“This is not a simple election feud between opposing clans; this is a supreme act of inhumanity that is a blight on our nation,” Ms Arroyo said in a strongly worded statement read by Ermita in a media briefing.
Ermita said Ms Arroyo insisted that the statement come out on Wednesday, apparently in the wake of criticisms that the administration was treating the Ampatuans—who traditionally delivered votes for Malacañang—with kid gloves.
“Masama talaga ang loob ng Presidente (The President really feels bad),” he said.
Ms Arroyo announced that Thursday (Nov. 26) would be a national day of mourning for the victims of the massacre. Ermita said black ribbons would be tied all around the Palace grounds in commiseration with the victims.
“I understand too well the volatility of the political situation in the area and for this reason, I reiterate with even greater urgency my personal appeal for calm and restraint,” she said.
“This crime is too outrageous not to prick the conscience of this nation, or any other nation for that matter. Let us hope that the outrage is overcome by reason and by our need to live our lives in peace, honor, and human dignity.”
Ermita confronted allegations that Malacañang could not risk antagonizing the Ampatuans because of its long political ties with the family.
In the 2004 elections, the clan delivered huge votes for Ms Arroyo over Fernando Poe Jr. The same was true in the 2007 senatorial election where the administration ticket scored an improbable 12-0 win in Maguindanao.
In last week’s national convention of the Lakas-Kampi-CMD party, Gov. Zaldy Ampatuan of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) took the microphone and pledged to deliver votes for standard-bearer Gilbert Teodoro and the rest of the administration ticket in the May elections.
“The sense of debt of gratitude as a result of the political exercises before should not becloud the issue of whether anyone or any group has committed some illegal acts or have violated the law,” Ermita said. “It should not be made an excuse for us not to follow the law.”
Ermita said Secretary Jesus Dureza, head of the Maguindanao crisis committee, was preparing a list of “immediate” recommendations including the dismantling of the Ampatuan private armies to help “diffuse the situation in the area.”
“We are looking toward that direction,” he said.
Ermita, former interim party president, said the Ampatuans could be sanctioned by Lakas-Kampi-CMD if they were found guilty of the Maguindanao massacre.
“They’re not (untouchable),” he said. “Nobody should be untouchable and I mean nobody. If anyone commits a crime especially as heinous as this one, I don’t see why anybody could think people should be considered as untouchable.”
Said Ms Arroyo: “The gruesome killings in Maguindanao constitute a most heinous crime. What makes it particularly so is the fact that it counts among its victims, lawyers, media reporters, and other defenseless and innocent civilians. Like many others, I am appalled and outraged by it, and I join the rising chorus of indignation against it.”
Ermita urged Zaldy Ampatuan to “go above his personal interest and be very cooperative in the conduct of the investigation to show that he is a man of the law, a leader who can be trusted.”
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Monday, November 23, 2009
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