MALOLOS CITY – Foreign citizens and Filipinos living abroad deplored the lack of implementation of sustainable reforms that would contribute to justice as they called for the end of the climate of impunity in the country.
This is through signing a one-page letter being circulated in abroad in remembrance of the victims of the Maguindanao massacre on its first anniversary on Tuesday.
As this developed, the daughter of Reynaldo Momay, the 58th victim in the Maguindanao Massacre said that she already forgiven the perpetrators of the brutal mass murder, but she is still looking for the body of her father.
“After one year, the relatives of the victims are still waiting for a conviction and a just penalty for the alleged perpetrators from the ranks of the influential Ampatuan clan. While the evidences and witness statements made during the trial are clearly pointing at the liability of the alleged Ampatuans, the clan members are still in denial of having anything to do with the massacre,” the letter said.
A copy of the letter was sent to Punto by Marcelo Suerte-Felipe of Paombong town. He said that his German brother in law has circulated a copy of the said letter in Germany and has attracted supporters.
In the letter, those who signed expressed their grief for all the victims who were killed in this brutal incident one year ago saying “our thoughts are with the relatives of the victims and those who have witnessed the incident still seeking for the conviction of all alleged perpetrators involved in this massacre.”
They also hailed Justice Secretary Leila de Lima for her commitment to due process as the trial against the alleged perpetrators has resumed last September 8.
However, they stressed that this is not enough to give justice to the victims and their families. It may take years until the conviction of the perpetrators.
“Therefore we deplore the lack of implementation of sustainable reforms that would contribute to justice for all people involved! We are calling for an end of the climate of impunity in the Philippines,” the letter said.
The letter also noted that victims of the Maguindanao massacre are not only victims of the Ampatuans, “but victims of the weak legal structures in the whole Philippines that lead to a general situation of impunity.”
As this developed, Reynafe Momay-Castillo, the daughter of Reynaldo Momay, a photographer of the Midland Review who was included in the Maguindanao massacre, said she had forgiven the perpetrators of the massacre “because harboring anger in my heart will make me a bitter person and blessings are hindered.”
However, her father’s body has yet to be found one year after the massacre.
In her note on her Facebook account, Momay-Castillo wrote what she and other member of the family of the victims of the massacre had gone through.
“Aside from emotional ravage, these families also lost their primary source of financial support. This means a need for hard work, initiative and ingenuity to provide for daily needs. Two major battles are fought: economic and emotional,” she said.
Momay-Castillo further wrote, “The question then: How are the victims’ families and loved ones faring after a year? I have called up some friends and colleagues and asked how they are after the massacre and found out that some are trying to move on by applying jobs, some venture into businesses, some are paranoid or becoming tired, children still need psychosocial therapy, others feel hopeless.”
She said that each one is trying to move on though the pain is still lingering and loneliness is still haunting and “it was a hard struggle.”
“I stand here today as proof that I have employed myself for justice. This is for my Papang. He was a humble journalist in Tacurong City. I am just puzzled until now that the Committee to Protect Journalists or CPJ claims that there are 32 media victims including him and yet in the total count of 57 victims he is excluded. Mine’s case is a bit different from the rest since my Papang’s body is never found though it has been established that he joined the Mangudadatu convoy. He is therefore included among the victims since there is also no proof of his life. Ergo, I keep on fighting,” she said.
This is through signing a one-page letter being circulated in abroad in remembrance of the victims of the Maguindanao massacre on its first anniversary on Tuesday.
As this developed, the daughter of Reynaldo Momay, the 58th victim in the Maguindanao Massacre said that she already forgiven the perpetrators of the brutal mass murder, but she is still looking for the body of her father.
“After one year, the relatives of the victims are still waiting for a conviction and a just penalty for the alleged perpetrators from the ranks of the influential Ampatuan clan. While the evidences and witness statements made during the trial are clearly pointing at the liability of the alleged Ampatuans, the clan members are still in denial of having anything to do with the massacre,” the letter said.
A copy of the letter was sent to Punto by Marcelo Suerte-Felipe of Paombong town. He said that his German brother in law has circulated a copy of the said letter in Germany and has attracted supporters.
In the letter, those who signed expressed their grief for all the victims who were killed in this brutal incident one year ago saying “our thoughts are with the relatives of the victims and those who have witnessed the incident still seeking for the conviction of all alleged perpetrators involved in this massacre.”
They also hailed Justice Secretary Leila de Lima for her commitment to due process as the trial against the alleged perpetrators has resumed last September 8.
However, they stressed that this is not enough to give justice to the victims and their families. It may take years until the conviction of the perpetrators.
“Therefore we deplore the lack of implementation of sustainable reforms that would contribute to justice for all people involved! We are calling for an end of the climate of impunity in the Philippines,” the letter said.
The letter also noted that victims of the Maguindanao massacre are not only victims of the Ampatuans, “but victims of the weak legal structures in the whole Philippines that lead to a general situation of impunity.”
As this developed, Reynafe Momay-Castillo, the daughter of Reynaldo Momay, a photographer of the Midland Review who was included in the Maguindanao massacre, said she had forgiven the perpetrators of the massacre “because harboring anger in my heart will make me a bitter person and blessings are hindered.”
However, her father’s body has yet to be found one year after the massacre.
In her note on her Facebook account, Momay-Castillo wrote what she and other member of the family of the victims of the massacre had gone through.
“Aside from emotional ravage, these families also lost their primary source of financial support. This means a need for hard work, initiative and ingenuity to provide for daily needs. Two major battles are fought: economic and emotional,” she said.
Momay-Castillo further wrote, “The question then: How are the victims’ families and loved ones faring after a year? I have called up some friends and colleagues and asked how they are after the massacre and found out that some are trying to move on by applying jobs, some venture into businesses, some are paranoid or becoming tired, children still need psychosocial therapy, others feel hopeless.”
She said that each one is trying to move on though the pain is still lingering and loneliness is still haunting and “it was a hard struggle.”
“I stand here today as proof that I have employed myself for justice. This is for my Papang. He was a humble journalist in Tacurong City. I am just puzzled until now that the Committee to Protect Journalists or CPJ claims that there are 32 media victims including him and yet in the total count of 57 victims he is excluded. Mine’s case is a bit different from the rest since my Papang’s body is never found though it has been established that he joined the Mangudadatu convoy. He is therefore included among the victims since there is also no proof of his life. Ergo, I keep on fighting,” she said.
