Business as Usual

A good friend of mine lamented today that her countrymen have such short term memories. Major issues like the Maguindanao massacre hit front page news one day, only to be relegated to the horoscope section the very next. I was wondering what she was on about, until I saw an article about Justice Secretary Alberto Agra having cleared two members of the Ampatuan clan of all charges. These are direct family members to Andal Ampatuan Jr. who himself is charged with the massacre of 57 people, including 32 media workers.

When dealing with such a high profile case, you would think that a Justice Secretary will only clear people if he has good reason to do so. However, it seems his own prosecutors think there was no good reason, staging a mutiny right on the steps of the Department of Justice (DoJ) building. Even the stock market took a dim view of the decision.

Then I remembered watching this video report on Al Jazeera about private armies in the Philippines. This report also discussed the recent massacre in Maguindanao, with a local reporter continuing to cover the story no matter the risks. He said it was the least he could do in honour of his fallen colleagues.

Now it's not everyday that I watch Al Jazeera (I'm more of a BBC World kind of guy) but I was impressed by the fact that they were able to file this report at all. Doing investigative journalism in the south is not exactly a safe occupation.

Watching this one reporter vowing to never let the case rest, I was hopeful the Maguindanao Massacre would firmly stay in the people's conscious. In so doing, it would force politicians not to play any games, and for once, let justice run its course.

Wishful thinking? Is my friend's pessimism justified?

There are now plenty of conspiracy theories doing the rounds in Manila, with presidential hopefuls hurling accusations of involvement at their opponents, and pointing out that Agra has long been an Arroyo insider.

I never believe an accusation made by a politician, and would rather see real justice run its course. However, when you read the reports of the wealth the Ampatuans have amassed over the years, it becomes hard to believe justice will prevail. If these reports are to be believed, they own no less than 35 houses and 121 vehicles, of which at least 53 being top-of-line luxury cars. All this for one of the poorest provinces in the Philippines. So much for 3rd world status. Whats going on here?

My friend, in the hope of explaining things to me, sent me this article. When I read it I was struck by the similarity of recent events. I was wondering why I hadn't caught this one on the news wire. Then I looked at the date when this article was published: Monday, Sep. 06, 1954! Is this all just business as usual?