vonjobi: wow, congratulations! kelan ang trip? i hope i'll be around when you come. had a good time with diosa last...
Keith Bacongco: Knowing Nograles and his Big Boss...garapalan na lang talaga.
Vinia Datinguinoo Mukherjee: Congratulations, PCIJ! Mabuhay kayo!
Lead Philippines: But without credible mass media there, what is left to protect the people..?
vonjobi: it's juned sOniDo.

Latest Message 5 months ago

hopeless_race : Lets not just focus sa mga malversation of funds, sa mga overpricing..ating pagtuunan ng atensyon ang diskarte ng mga politiko na umuutang ng bilyon bilyon sa gobyerno."Small time" ang ibang pamamaraan ng pangungurakot kumpara sa pag-utang sa gobyerno ng bilyon na tunay ngang masasabing "pinaka big-time" at wala pang sabit.
hopeless_race : Mukhang tikom ang bibig ng lahat pagdating sa diskarte ng mga politiko sa pagutang ng mga bilyon bilyon sa gobyerno na tinatakbuhan. Itong pamamaraan na ito ang tunay na kumakain ng malaking porsyento ng ating national budget batay na din sa sinasabi ng world bank.
hopeless_race : Pakisilip naman po ang mga utang ni Villar sa BSP, ang mga utang nila RAMON JACINTO, RONNIE ZAMORA, JOE DE VENECIA at madami pang ibang mga pulitiko. Iilan lamang yan sa mga nababanggit sa balita na may mga malalaking utang sa gobyerno.
hopeless_race : Nagmimistulang "small time" lamang ang malversation of funds kumpara sa laki ng kinakamal ng mga umuutang sa gobyerno. At ito ay malinaw na natatakbuhan dahil hindi nga naman pwede makulong ang may-ari ng kumpanya sa pagkaka-utang lamang. Tunay na mga tuso at magagaling sa batas itong mga politiko natin. Masasabi ko na malamang lahat ng mga politiko ganito ang diskarte...wala pang kulong.
hopeless_race : PCIJ pkitingnan naman po ang mga gaya ni Villar na my malaking utang sa Gobyerno pero tinatakbuhan. Magtatayo ng kumpanya at uutang ng bilyon bilyon sa gobyerno ng walang balak bayaran. Tunay ngang walang nakukulong sa utang...ito ang prinsipyo ginagamit ng mga politiko ntin kaya nakakapagtaka kung san napupunta ang daang bilyong pera ng gobyerno.
hopeless_race : Sana itreat naman po ng media ang hacienda luisita at mendiola massacre na parang MAGUINADANAO MASSACRE. Ipublicized ang mga katotohanan at ipakita sa tao ang karumaldumal na pinaggagawa sa mga farmers dun. Untouchable po ba sila cory at danding at hindi magawang batikusin ng media about these two massacres?
hopeless_race : Kapag napaguusapan ang mendiola at hacienda luisita massacre ay parang walang nangyari at parang hindi big deal. Anu po ba ang pinagkaiba ng dalawang nabanggit na massacre sa maguindanao massacre?
hopeless_race : Its sad that we pinoys are blind to the fact of what had happened in mendiola and hacienda luisita. Ang tanong..bakit ang media ay hindi manlang matackle ang ganitong usapin? Takot ba sila kay cory at danding?
hopeless_race : Wilkins" brand, for P1.4 billion.-1999 Sugarland Multi-Food Corp. for P2.9 billion 2001- Purefoods Corp P7 billion P60 billion Coca-Cola ... See More 2002- Cosmos Bottling Corp. from RFM Corp. for P14.1 billion October 2008- GSIS' shares in Meralco worth PHP30 Billion. December 2008- country's biggest oil refiner, Petron Corporation. international company shopping spree: Australian boutique brewer J. Boag and Son for A$96 million in 2000. $97 million for Thai Amarit Brewery Ltd $35.5 mi
hopeless_race : Gud am..glad to be back.
jr_lad : rip mr. alecks pabico. you'll be greatly missed!
sevens21 : Dati input mo lng name at SSS ID makukuha mo agad STATIC INFO...
sevens21 : tawag ka sa HOTLINE nila walang ANSWER grrr we need pa namn ng static info SSS Gising!!!
sevens21 : Gawa naman po kayo ng article about SSS. Pangit ng site nila dali ma blocked ng account
guest_899 : we must check the background of each potential candidates to avoid having another big mistake like GMA
guest_899 : congratulations to PCIJ, more power and God Bless !
jazzymuver : how did Arroyo swallow that kind of things!! how come that she just spend the money our countrymen for her own sake!!
guest_3664 : i would be glad if u can include the investigation of the manner public officials announce infra projects as per COA regulation. It is frustrating to see their faces on the tarpaulin instead of the prescribed information like name of project, date of implementation,amount of contract, source/s of fund, among other things. This is very rampant here in Marikina. Thanks and more power on your noble endeavors. We need people like you to have make our country great again.
jhanz_08 : im making research on R.A 9136...with rgards to the privatization of NPC..could someone out there can let me understand more bout this matter?why was monopoly dismantled?email me..jhanycem@yahoo.com...thanks much
erika marie : P.S.:) my paper is due next week and i do hope someone could provide me these reports coming from reliable resources thank you ulit.
erika marie : P.S.
guest_4275 : i am currently doing a study regarding political killings in the philippines. could someone out there please send me human rights reports under Aquino and Ramos administration. you could send it at my email: erikamariet@yahoo.com your response would surely be very much appreciated. thank you everyone. god bless.
guest_4275 : i am currently doing a study for my paper regarding political killings in the philippines. i noted that there are no human rights reports during the Aquino and Ramos administration. could someone out there please send me reports regarding these matter? i do hope these reports came from reliable resources you could send it in my email; erikamariet@yahoo.comyour response would surely be appreciated. thanks everyone. god bless.
jayson bourne : gusto ko po maging member ng PCIJ, panu po ba? may application po ba? sana mapadalhan nyo ako ng info sa email ko... www.jboxpenshoppe@yahoo.com
jayson bourne : cory is OK, but kris & Noynoy sensationalize masyado...
guest_9891 : LABAN pa rin!
meow : boycotts worked during marcos years. how about doing it now against the businesses of the con-ass congressmen?
meow : aside from 168, what other establishments can we boycott that belong to the arroyos and their cronies?
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Putting Maguindanao in context

Posted by: Jaemark Tordecilla | November 23, 2009 at 10:19 pm
Filed under: In the News, Journalist Killings, Media

by Ed Lingao

It is the seat of Bangsamoro pride and the heartland of the Moro Sultanate. But as authorities slowly unearth the events that unfolded along a remote stretch of highway Monday morning, November 23, Maguindanao province now holds the distinction of having the worst single case of election violence in recent Philippine history.

As of Monday night, authorities have found at least 21 mutilated bodies in Masalay, Datu Abdullah Sangki town in Maguindanao. They are believed to belong to a group of 50 people, including 30 local journalists, that departed Buluan town earlier in the day to witness the filing of the certificate of candidacy of gubernatorial hopeful Ishmael Mangudadatu at the Comelec office in Shariff Aguak, Maguindanao.

Authorities say the convoy was waylaid by a large group of armed men; Mangudadatu insists that the men were led by his political rival, Andal Ampatuan. Ishmael himself avoided filing his certificate of candidacy in person because of political tensions between him and Ampatuan. Instead, he sent his wife Genalyn and other female relatives, hoping that the females and the accompanying journalists would defuse the tension.

As of press time however, authorities have still not found the other members of the convoy. Instead, army officials say they recovered the mutilated bodies of 13 women and eight men. Some of the bodies have already been identified as belonging to people from the ill-fated convoy. Their vehicles were recovered by the highway, the contents ransacked of all valuables.

Media groups also fear for the lives of the missing journalists who accompanied the convoy. The Philippine Daily Inquirer says that some 37 journalists signed an attendance sheet just before the convoy left Buluan town at 9am. It would be the single largest group of journalists captured or held hostage in the world.

While Moros have always been proud of both their long history of resistance and a rich and colorful culture, politics in many areas in Muslim Mindanao are still overshadowed by the influence of powerful clans that dictate both affiliations and allegiances, especially in long-running blood feuds called rido. These clans hold sway over their areas much like feudal overlords of old, with the power of life or death over their subjects at their fingertips.

The private armies of these ruling clans are, for all intents and purposes, also funded through government coffers. Since the local government code allows local officials to choose their local police chiefs, many local policemen are ineffectual at best, or act as bodyguards of the local mayor or congressman. In addition, local officials have also effectively used the threat of the Moro secessionist movement in the area to deputize and arm their own men using taxpayers’ money. These deputies or militiamen are called civilian volunteer officers, or CVOs, who join occasional military operations, but for the most part merely take orders from local officials.

In the wake of today’s incident in Maguindanao, the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism revisits several stories the Center has published on Maguindanao’s culture and politics, and its culture of politics.

Our former deputy executive director Jaileen Jimeno wrote a series of stories in 2008 that focused on the province. “Amid the fighting, the clan rules in Maguindanao” looked at the influential Ampatuan clan and its close ties to Malacanang: “(Analysts) note that no less than the Palace made it legal for the Ampatuans to have hundreds of armed men and women under their employ. The 1987 Constitution bans private armed groups. In July 2006, however, the Arroyo administration issued Executive Order 546, allowing local officials and the PNP to deputize barangay tanods as ‘force multipliers’ in the fight against insurgents. In practice, the EO allows local officials to convert their private armed groups into legal entities with a fancy name: civilian volunteer organizations (CVO).”

A sidebar, “Young guns, young terror” focused on how private armies in Maguindanao are filled by young recruits. Meanwhile, “Maguindanao, RP fall behind key indicators for education” examined how the province has been falling behind Millennium Development Goals for education, a situation exacerbated by armed conflict in the region.

In 2006, journalist Samira Gutoc penned a first-person piece about being a journalist in Mindanao, and the challenges idealistic young Moros face as they struggle to bring about change to the region.

Gutoc was part of a documentary project with Howie Severino in 2002 that focused on the conflict in Mindanao as well as efforts of the people there to move beyond the conflict. In a story for the PCIJ, Severino noted how, while the conflict between the government and various rebel groups hog the headlines, minor wars between feuding families generally went unreported.

Recently, the PCIJ also published a photo essay by Nonoy Espina on mostly-forgotten refugees in Maguindanao, which underscores the role journalists play to bring to light the plight of people in the conflict-ridden area.

Maguindanao, as one of the five poorest provinces in the country, is also part of Suriin ang Kahirapan, a PCIJ crowdsourcing project that aims to audit the poverty in these places.

This entry was posted on Monday, November 23rd, 2009 and is filed under In the News, Journalist Killings, Media. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

5 people have left comments

[...] WordPress « Putting Maguindanao in context [...]

The Daily PCIJ » Blog Archive » SEAPA: Philippine gov’t must own up to climate of impunity wrote on November 24, 2009 - 1:07 pm | Visit Link

Can’t believe this is still happening in the country. If the government does nothing, I won’t be surprised if there will be more Pinoys migrating to more civilized countries..

Lead Philippines wrote on November 24, 2009 - 3:33 pm | Visit Link

[...] Putting Maguindanao in context [...]

The Daily PCIJ: Putting Maguindanao in context by Ed Lingao « Passion Pride Family wrote on November 24, 2009 - 7:26 pm | Visit Link

[...] on conflict among warring clans in Mindanao. A whole cluster of relevant articles are linked to in PCIJ’s Putting Maguindanao in context. Similar articles are linked to in the Lede Blog of the New York Times. In Asia has [...]

Mass murder in Maguindanao : Manuel L. Quezon III: The Daily Dose wrote on November 25, 2009 - 5:19 pm | Visit Link

[...] This entry from PCIJ best sums up my sentiments on the entire issue. Possibly related posts: (automatically generated)The Maguindanao MassacreanimalsMaguindanao [...]

Justice for the Maguindanao Massacre « Marcissism wrote on November 26, 2009 - 10:46 pm | Visit Link