We think its important for all of us to understand what happened during the Maguindanao massacre so that it will strengthen our desire to not let this pass.
We are hoping that if we understand what happened, we will understand better why we must persist and demand justice for the victims from the Philippine Government.
“My wife’s private parts were slashed four times, after which they fired a bullet into it,” he added.”They speared both of her eyes, shot both her breasts, cut off her feet, fired into her mouth. I could not begin to describe the manner by which they treated her.” Esmael Mangudadatu Jr said.
Five of the convoy’s blood-spattered and bullet-riddled vehicles were found on Monday alongside an unpaved farm road near many of the bodies, said Chief Superintendent Felicisimo Khu, the top police forensics official on the scene.
The final car was also found close by on Wednesday in a hastily dug grave alongside 11 freshly discovered bodies, Khu said.
But police also unearthed a sedan and a second van, neither of which was part of the convoy and which were owned by residents of the area who had no affiliation to the politicians or journalists, according to Khu.
“The car and the second van were not part of the convoy,” Khu said. “They just happened to drive past.”
more info:
The Maguindanao massacre is also known as the Ampatuan massacre (after the town where the mass graves were found) and this happened on the morning of November 23, 2009, in the Ampatuan town in the province of Maguindanao, Philippines. The said victims were about to file a certificate of candidacy for Esmael Mangudadatu, vice mayor of Buluan town. Mangudadatu was challenging Datu Unsay mayor Andal Ampatuan, Jr., the son of the incumbent Maguindanao governor Andal Ampatuan, Sr., in the forthcoming Maguindanao governatorial election, part of the national elections in 2010. The 57 people killed included Mangudadatu's wife, his two sisters, journalists, lawyers, aides, and motorists who were witnesses or were mistakenly identified as part of the convoy.
