Ampatuan Massacre 2

Andal Ampatuan Jr., the prime suspect in Monday's massacre, is currently detained at the National Bureau of Investigation after "submitting" himself to authorities. In the meantime, more bodies have been unearthed in Barangay Salman, bringing the death toll to 64.

In the past few days, witnesses have begun to come forth with their accounts of what happened, coloring the landscape, which was alien to our imaginations. All the women were raped, one gunman said. They were merely following orders, another said. Their orders were to kill everybody.

Justice chief Agnes Devanedera said the women were discovered with their pants down and with shots fired into their genitals. Based on some tissue reactions observed in autopsies, a forensics expert suggested that some of the victims may have still been alive when they were thrown into the shallow grave and covered with earth.

It's very difficult to process all the information that is coming out.

Ampatuan Massacre 1

Mindanao Massacre

I'm trying to react to the massacre in Mindanao of women, journalists and civilians.

It's been described as the worst incident of political violence in the country and the bloodiest day for journalists in world history. Bodies are still being dug up from a hillside grave where over 50 women, journalists and civilians were killed and buried.

The convoy, led by Buluan Mayor Esmael Mangundadatu's wife and sisters, was waylaid on its way to Sharif Aguak to file Mangundadatu's certificate of candidacy for Maguindanao governor. The mayor had received threats from a rival clan that he would be killed or kidnapped if he filed the COCs himself. Believing that the Amaptuans, adhering to Koranic code, would not harm women or civilians, the group was dispatched.

I try to imagine the convoy of seven or eight vehicles traveling through the lonely road before being ambushed by a small army of 100 or so armed men. How the group might have been forced out of their vans and what the victims might have been thinking as they watched their colleagues and relatives assaulted, killed and dumped in a waiting grave prepared by a government backhoe.

It's difficult to imagine. But it happened, in broad daylight.

Deadliest Country For Journalists

It's no secret that journalists are regularly killed in the Philippines. International groups have tagged the Philippines as one of the deadliest countries in the world for journalists. Monday's bloodbath probably pushes us to the top. It's also no secret that election-related violence and clan wars are common, particularly in the country's south.

But Monday's incident is mindboggling in the sheer brazenness in which it was committed.

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has of course issued the obligatory vow to pursue the killers and bring them to justice but like so much else that spews from her mouth, they seems like empty promises. It's probably more difficult to take her seriously when you know that the Ampatuans are her political allies who are largely considered to have delivered her Maguindanao in the previous election.

The incident is disturbing on so many levels, but maybe our outrage also reveals that for too long we have been complacent about the situation in Mindanao. Monday's bloodbath revealed a level of savagery that is simply incomprehensible and I think frightens us all.

Certainly we have been aware that the south operates according to its own laws and certainly we have heard the outcry of journalists clamoring for justice for colleagues killed in the line of duty. Maybe we became desensitized to news of a provincial journalist being ambushed by motorcycle-riding gunmen here and there.

Certainly, the degree to how much the masterminds believed they could get away with was influenced by how far we have we turned our heads in the opposite direction in the past. I think for this, the scale of the carnage is even more disturbing.

* photo belongs to rightful owners

The Day After The Flood

The day after the worst flood in Philippine history. This post will be a narration of my experience of the flood. If I'm writing this, then it means I've been fortunate because our house was not affected and we still have electricity. Many people were not so lucky and still need help.
I reported for my 5 a.m. shift Saturday. The rains had already been falling but did not seem to be any cause for concern then. My shift ended at 12:30 p.m. and mom called to say that the car had not been able to leave the village due to floods. Since I had a 10:30 p.m. shift later that evening, I prepared to just wait it out and crash on one of the sofas in reception for the meantime.
At about 1p.m., Ate Mai, our office's pregnant cleaner, told us that people across the Marikina river were already moving up to their roofs, trying to save their possessions. From our office on the 9th floor, we could see people standing in the rain on their roofs, the Marikina river, filling with debris and moving fast between us.
We went out to grab some lunch and load our phones. Many of the restaurants and stores were closed or closing. When we got back to the office, the elevator had been shut down to ease the burden on the building's generator. It was eerie climbing the dark stairways with the sound of rain beating outside. People moved slowly, with only their cell phones as flashlights.
There were only eight of us left in the office. From the fire escape I watched as the river got stronger and angrier. I watched a dog on the debris of a destroyed house get swept away. I heard there were reports of dozens of people on floating debris who rammed into a bridge. I hope they're ok.
After a while, security told us that they were shutting down the generator as water was beginning to creep inside. The office stands on the banks of the Marikina river. We left the building and settled in at one of the 24-hour restaurants overlooking the driveway of the mall next to the office. After a couple of hours, the driveway began to fill with light brown mud and water from the banks of the overflowing river.
A Korean lady was also looking for a way out. She was clearly panicked but still had the decency to cover me with her umbrella. Thank you Korean lady. Her little son seemed to be enjoying himself though which exasperated the lady. We then decided to go to our boss's condo in Eastwood. We decided to take the long route to avoid the flood, which had reached thigh high in our area, even though the condo was just across the street. We stayed there a few hours and then I moved to a family friend's condo next door where I spent the evening.