The Ampatuan Massacre trial
By Mike Dobbie
The November 23 2009 Ampatuan Massacre in the southern Philippines is the single greatest atrocity committed against media workers. Of the 58 people murdered, 32 were journalists.
For many years, MEAA has been closely involved in monitoring the impact and aftermath of the massacre. MEAA representatives including the Media section federal president participated in the initial International Federation of Journalists’ rapid assessment solidarity mission on December 5–11 2009.[i]
MEAA followed up its initial engagement in several subsequent missions to determine what progress was being made on bringing the perpetrators to account given the Philippines government’s appalling history of impunity. In 2014, on the occasion of the fifth anniversary of the massacre, an IFJ mission included two MEAA representatives including the MEAA Media federal vice-president.[ii]
MEAA has continued to call for justice for the victims of the massacre, an end to the impunity surrounding journalist killings and increased safety for journalists.[iii] MEAA’s Media Safety and Solidarity Fund has also provided financial support and assistance for the education of the children of the slain journalists.[iv]
The Ampatuan Massacre took place in the province of Maguindanao, on the island of Mindanao, on Monday, November 23 2009.[v] The massacre is named after the provincial municipality in which it took place as well as the war-lord Ampatuan family that is charged with the killings.
Mindanao has been caught up in a long-running insurgency with the government arming local clans to fight the insurgents. War lords have created large heavily armed militias sparking dangerous rivalries among rival clans.
The massacre victims were in a multi-vehicle convoy heading to the provincial capital of Sharrif Aguak to file election candidacy papers for Esmael “Toto” Mangudadatu for the upcoming May 10 2010 national gubernatorial elections. Mangadadatu was challenging the long-standing incumbent governor Andal Ampatuan Snr. Ampatian ran his own militia and had installed various members of his family in posts within his administration.
At 10am the eight vehicles were stopped at a PNP checkpoint on the highway by officers of the Philippines National Police commanded by a chief inspector, and about 100 armed men led by Andal Ampatuan Jr.
At the checkpoint, the convoy of Mangudadatu’s family, the journalists plus two unrelated vehicles caught up at the checkpoint, were commandeered by the gunmen. The eight vehicles were diverted west from the highway on to a rough dirt track. They were driven along a ridgeline for about 2.5 kilometres to the top of a knoll with a steep drop-off. A yellow tracked-wheel excavator was parked at the top of the track. It had dug three pits between 1.5 metres and 3.5 metres deep.
Over the next hour the armed men killed 58 people: 43 men and 15 women. The victims were initially taken out of the vehicles and shot in batches of about 10. But when the others refused to get out of the vehicles they were shot where they sat.
The excavator began to bury the bodies and vehicles, interspersing each layer by driving over the vehicles to crush them.
At 11am the local military commander was told that the convoy may have been kidnapped and an infantry brigade was ordered to commence operations to rescue those who had been abducted. Soldiers reached the massacre site at about 3pm, disturbing the excavator as it tried to bury all evidence of the massacre. Six layers of bodies and vehicles were crushed in the pits; the other vehicles were intact and contained the dead. One body, the 58th, was never recovered from the site causing immense grief for that man’s family — particularly as no charges were ever brought over his murder.
A total of 197 people are officially accused of having a role in the massacre. Eighteen of the accused carry the Ampatuan surname, including clan patriarch Andal Ampatuan Sr, and his sons Andal Jr and Zaldy Ampatuan. The chief inspector at the checkpoint and a staggering 61 other police officers are charged for their role in the massacre.
Achieving justice is achingly slow and highly traumatic for the victims’ families. The Ampatuan trial only began on September 15 2010–293 days after the arrest of Andal Ampatuan Jr.
By the fifth anniversary of the massacre, only 118 of the 197 suspects had been arrested and arraigned. At least 79 suspects are still at large: five are police officers; four are members of the Armed Forces, and 53 are members of the government-subsidised paramilitary militias.
Nine of those still to be arrested have the surname Ampatuan. At least four prosecution witnesses were murdered or died under mysterious circumstances. Clan patriarch Andal Ampatuan Sr. died in 2015.[vi]
At times the court would sit only two days a week — Wednesdays and Thursdays. In the 1500 days to the fifth anniversary of the massacre the court had sat for only 206 days. It took 560 days before the assets of the Ampatuans were frozen.[vii]
By November 23 2019, the 10th anniversary of the massacre, 70 suspects were still at large.[viii] Even so, the trial had been a mammoth undertaking. An editorial in the Cebu Daily News Inquirer stated: “Consider the workload: 166 witnesses for the prosecution and 107 witnesses for the defence or 273 witnesses to be cross-examined, 15 sets of offers of evidence in connection for the bail applications of the 70 persons accused, who are part of the 197 respondents including the prime suspect… Andal Ampatuan Jr. The nine-year trial had… produced transcripts of stenographic notes worth 59 volumes, 129 volumes of records for the case and 10 volumes of the prosecution’s evidence.”[ix]
On December 19 2019, trial judge Jocelyn Solis-Reyes brought down verdicts on 101 people who had been put on trial for their roles in the massacre. “Of the accused, eight members of the powerful Ampatuan clan — including brothers Andal “Unsay” Ampatuan Jr. and Zaldy Ampatuan — were convicted of 57 counts of murder and sentenced to 40 years in prison without parole.”
In all, 28 people were convicted and sentenced to reclusion perpetua, a Filipino legal equivalent to a life sentence. A further 15, mostly police officers, were found to be accessories to the crime and sentenced to between six and 10 years imprisonment. Some 53 people, including another son of Andal Ampatuan Sr., Datu Sajid Islam Ampatuan, and also several police officers along with three other Ampatuan family members were acquitted of murder on the grounds of reasonable doubt. Three police officers were acquitted because the prosecution had failed to prove their guilt.[x]
In a statement the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) said: “The Ampatuan name is the one to which the massacre has been burned in the Philippines psyche in the years since.
“… this is a significant and landmark step in proving the guilt of the Ampatuan clan members and their minions in the massacre — the worst single attack against journalists in the world and the worst single election-related violence in the country.
“The convictions and indemnification can never bring back the lives of the victims and erase the pain of the families who lost their loved ones. But this verdict, in some ways, alleviates the suffering that they have endured for the past 10 years,” the NUJP said.
The International Federation of Journalists said: “While we welcome the verdict, it came after ten years of heavy campaigning, sacrifice, pain and the suffering of many. Children have been left without parents, witnesses murdered and impunity for crimes against journalists has reigned. The result has been more journalist lives lost in the process. Justice came at a great cost but we commend the efforts of many who have persisted in a very necessary and critical fight for justice. The IFJ stands in solidarity with NUJP and will continue to fight for justice against those who try to stamp out the truth.”[xi]
The Philippines’ Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility wrote of the court’s judgement: “… this one decision cannot eliminate in one stroke the other factors that have made impunity possible and practically inevitable. These include the weaknesses of the justice system particularly at the local level where communities are rendered more powerless by abusive politicians who collude with local officials, police and military under their command.
“Ending impunity demands the dismantling of the structures of control imposed by ruling clans and political dynasties. Operating as virtual warlords, these political leaders have at their service the government’s public security forces as its private army. Reforms for the long term include the strengthening of the justice system so it can be a separate and independent third branch of government, enabling justice officials to effectively prosecute wrongdoers.
“For their own protection, the press community must work together to put its own house in order so journalists can provide news in the interest of the public; and providing relevant and meaningful information that will help citizens participate in public life. Journalism must win back its credibility and prove its usefulness to the people. Only then can a press be ensured of the kind of public support that will help prevent threats and attacks against journalists and press freedom.
“It is an impressive decision that called for singular dedication and courage on the part of Judge Jocelyn Solis-Reyes. But this is only the first step.”[xii]
Mike Dobbie is MEAA Media’s communications manager. He led the IFJ’s 2009 rapid assessment solidarity mission and participated in subsequent missions including the five-year anniversary international solidarity mission in 2014.
[i] Massacre in the Philippines: International Solidarity Mission Rapid Assessment, December 2009, International Federation of Journalists Asia-Pacific, January 2010 https://www.ifj.org/fileadmin/user_upload/2009_Philippines.pdf
[ii] Ampatuan Massacre Five Years On, International Federation of Journalist, January 2015 https://www.meaa.org/download/ampatuan-massacre-five-years-on/
[iii] “7 years on — Ampatuan Massacre victims denied justice”, MEAA, November 23 2016 https://www.meaa.org/news/7-years-on-ampatuan-massacre-victims-denied-justice/ and “UN convention to protect journalists”, MEAA, November 22 2017 https://www.meaa.org/news/un-convention-to-protect-journalists/
[iv] Media Safety and Solidarity Fund, MEAA https://www.meaa.org/meaa-media/mssf/
[v] Ampatuan Massacre Five Years On: International Solidarity Mission, November 2014, Philippines, International Federation of Journalists, January 2015, https://www.meaa.org/download/ampatuan-massacre-five-years-on/
[vi] “9 years later, 70 accused in Ampatuan massacre still at large”, Nicole-Anne C. Lagrinas, GMA News November 22 2018 https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/news/nation/675705/9-years-later-70-accused-in-ampatuan-massacre-still-at-large/story/
[vii] Ampatuan Massacre Five Years On: International Solidarity Mission, November 2014, Philippines, International Federation of Journalists, January 2015, https://www.meaa.org/download/ampatuan-massacre-five-years-on/
[viii] “9 years later, 70 accused in Ampatuan massacre still at large”, Nicole-Anne C. Lagrinas, GMA News November 22 2018 https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/news/nation/675705/9-years-later-70-accused-in-ampatuan-massacre-still-at-large/story/
[ix] “Light at the end of the tunnel”, editorial, Cebu Daily News Inquirer, November 22 2018 https://cebudailynews.inquirer.net/204788/light-at-the-end-of-the-tunnel-2#ixzz5ifMI7CnT
[x] “LIST: Verdict on Maguindanao massacre suspects” CNN Philippines, December 19 2019 https://cnnphilippines.com/news/2019/12/19/Maguindanao-massacre-verdict-Ampatuan.html?fbclid=IwAR3gqT5UnWRVP-5RfMYaXpaMHsDmDZu6eXxJiwPKQhvqhBiYNIt78fERzaA
[xi] “Philippines: Guilty verdict delivered on Ampatuan massacre” IFJ December 20 2019 https://www.ifj.org/media-centre/news/detail/category/press-releases/article/philippines-guilty-verdict-delivered-on-ampatuan-massacre.html
[xii] “Ampatuan court conviction is a good sign but it hardly ends impunity in the Philippines” Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR), December 19 2019 https://ifex.org/ampatuan-court-conviction-is-a-good-sign-but-it-hardly-ends-impunity-in-the-philippines/
