CITY OF SAN FERNANDO – Far from losing steam, the call for justice in the infamous Maguindanao massacre two years ago has gained more advocates beyond the ranks of journalists as San Fernando Archbisho Paciano Aniceto is expected to lead them here tomorrow in a Mass timed for the launching of the International Day to End Impunity (IDEI).
The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) chapter here said it will also issue a resolution asking the United Nations (UN) to adopt IDEI which was initiated by the Canada-based International Freedom of Express Exchange (IFEX).
Journalists from various provinces in Central Luzon have also slated a ceremonial “die in” before the Mass in front of the Holy Rosary cathedral here to manifest their “determination to keep watch over the flow of justice on the Maguidanao massacre.”
“The archbishop is expected to issue a circular revolving around IDEI which was inspired by the call for justice in the Maguindanao massacre,” said Ashley Manabat, chairman of the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) in Pampanga.
Aniceto, 74, will officiate the Mass at the Holy Rosary parish cathedral at 10 a.m. tomorrow to be attended by journalists from various Central Luzon provinces. The Mass will be offered for the victims of the Maguindanao massacre that included 32 journalists, mostly from Central Mindanao, Manabat said.
“This will also be the first time for NUJP chapters in Central Luzon provinces to come together to commemorate the anniversary of the Maguindanao massacre. Last year, the chapters commemorated the massacre in their own provinces,” Manabat added.
He said that this city’s Mayor Oscar Rodriguez, who is known as a human rights advocate, and representatives from the College Editors Guild of the Philippines in Central Luzon and the Integrated Bar of the Philippines are also expected to join the commemoration here tomorrow.
Fred Villareal, provincial vice chairman of the NUJP, said the ceremonies will start at 8:30 a.m. in front of the city hall across from the cathedral here, with speeches from the provincial chairpersons of the NUJP in Central Luzon, candle lighting and “die in” in front of the cathedral, a march around downtown and the Mass.
Manabat noted that journalists from Central Luzon decided to come together for the second massacre anniversary to give importance to IDEI called for by IFEX.
IFEX was created in 1992 in Montréal, Canada when a dozen leading free expression organizations came together to create a coordinated mechanism to rapidly expose free expression violations around the world.
It now has 95 independent organizations worldwide and is internationally recognized as a highly credible and effective global network.
IFEX recently declared the first IDEI this Nov. 23 in the light of the Maguindanao massacre which it described as the “single deadliest attack on journalists in recent history.”
“The day will be a platform… to demand that journalists’ killers do not go free, and to ensure that our colleagues working in countries with continuous and rampant impunity feel that their work is valued and their life is treasured,” said the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).
According to CPJ’s 2011 Impunity Index, Iraq once again ranked the highest in terms of unsolved murders numbering 92 in the past 10 years. Somalia and the Philippines joined Iraq at the top of the index.
Villareal said IDEI is also being supported by the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), the Reporters without Borders, the Confederation of ASEAN Journalists, the Human Rights Watch, and the Jakarta Freedom House.
