v11n0203

The Maguindanao massacre:
Legal and human rights
implications of court delay
Danilo Reyes, Programme Officer,
Asian human Rights Commission, hong Kong
On 23 november 2009, 58 people were murdered, 32 of
them were journalists, in a massacre in the southern
province of maguindanao, the Philippines. The mass
murder, now known as “maguindanao massacre”, was the largest
number of journalists murdered in a single incident worldwide.
The massacre’s sheer brutality shocked not only the Filipino
society but also the world.
On that day, the wife of Esmael mangudadatu, a local
politician, was to submit a Certificate of Candidacy on his behalf.
he was to run for provincial governor. Local journalists joined
them in a convoy going to the office of the Commission on Election
(Comelec) in the municipality of Shariff Aguak. The journalists
took interest to cover the filing of candidacy, as it was in the local
political context historic. It was a challenge to the Ampatuans, the
powerful ruling political clan. The Ampatuans were supporting
Andal Ampatuan Jr., son of the then incumbent governor, Andal
Sr., to succeed him as governor.
But before Esmael’s wife, her party and the journalists could
reach the Comelec office, the local policemen, soldiers and
paramilitary forces blocked their way at the highway. They were
allegedly given orders by Andal Ampatuan Sr., then incumbent
governor and also the patriarch of the Ampatuans; and his
son, Andal Jr., to kill the group. All the victims were taken to a
hilltop where they were executed. Their bodies were buried in a
mass grave together with their flattened vehicles. The attempt to
conceal completely any traces of evidence of the mass murder
was prevented when it was discovered.
This article was originally written as part of the requirements for an LLm degree
in human Rights at the university of hong Kong. Thank you to Kelley Loper, the
director of the programme, for allowing it to be published.
article 2 � June-Sept 2012 Vol. 11, No. 2-3
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