THE MAGUINDANAO MASSACRE OF NOVEMBER 2009

THE MAGUINDANAO MASSACRE OF NOVEMBER 2009

 Originally published 3 December 2009 at The Philippines Matrix Project


 
 

ARROYO REGIME IN THE PHILIPPINES MOUNTED THE STAGE FOR THE MAGUINDANAO SLAUGHTER
By E. San Juan, Jr.,
Philippines Cultural Studies Center
After the feasting, the bloodletting. Only a few months has passed since de facto president of the Philippines Gloria Arroyo was publicly criticized for wanton spending of thousands of dollars in her dinners in New York City and Washington DC when another political “scandal” explodes, this time a political mass slaughter of defenseless Filipino civilians.
At least 57 victims of a hideous massacre last Nov. 23 were dug from shallow graves. Reporter Carlos H. Conde (New York Times 27 Nov 2009) reported that among the slain were 22 women, 30 journalists, 2 lawyers, and dozens of supporters of Esmael Mangudadatu, a local politician who is challenging the quasi-feudal control of Maguindanao province by the Amapatuan clan. Early forensic analysis indicates that the women were molested or raped, their private parts mutilated, with vehicles and other accessory evidence buried in pits dug by government backhoes (Agence France-Press, “Mayor Charged with Horrific Massacre,” The Nation, 28 Nov 2009, 6A)..... MORE