Second District, Maguindanao Representative Esmael “Toto” Mangudadatu averred that he is ready to renounce his legislative post if he and his family fail to obtain justice in the decade-long, brutal, massacre case on 58 slain individuals, 32 of which were journalists. He expects to attain the desired verdict especially because the 10th anniversary of the crime comes on November 23, 2019.
The Quezon City Regional Trial Court, through Judge Jocelyn Solis-Reyes, is expected to release its ruling on over 100 accused individuals of the suit before December 20.
Presidential Task Force on Media Security (PTFOMS) Executive Director Undersecretary Jose Joel Sy-Egco, who calls the decision as the “promulgation of the year,” also declares that he will resign if the culprits in the lawsuit will still not be punished. “All eyes will be on the QC court that day, and we expect siguro, naku thousands ang dadagsa rito. And we meet number one, of course, to ensure the security of the entire proceedings” (All eyes will be on the QC court that day, and we expect maybe thousands whom will flock there. And we meet number one, of course, to ensure the security of the entire proceedings), announces the PTFOMS chief. Further, he informs that the country’s standing in the roster of most dangerous countries for media, authored by the Committee to Protect Journalists, improves by 2020 following the advancement of the case. “Sa 41 na cases na sinasabi nilang nasa listahan nila, 32 agad do’n ‘yong Ampatuan massacre victims. Meaning, ‘pag na-promulgate ‘yan, tanggal si 32, so malaking improvement ‘yan next year” (In the 41 cases they claim to be in their list, 32 of said number comprise Ampatuan massacre victims. Meaning, after the following the promulgation, the 32 will be deleted, so that is a huge improvement next year), Sy-Egco explains. Moreover, he guarantees his task force’s response on the predicaments faced by media members, particularly because these people cannot avoid peril to their lives.
There have been 180 killings of media members in the Philippines since 1980s, 60 of which were work-related.
