Truth

“Have you found the truth?” I joked Atty. Cho-Choy Medina, a member of the Truth Commission, when I met him on Nov. 9, during our meeting of the Philippine Working Group for an ASEAN Human Rights Mechanism.“Not yet,” he replied.

Seriously though, the Truth Commission should consider the report by Human Rights Watch on the Maguindanao Massacre and the Ampatuans and other warlords, which was released a few days ago.

Entitled, “‘They Own the People’: The Ampatuans, State-Backed Militias, and Killings in the Southern Philippines,” the report also implicates former Pres. Macapagal-Arroyo of nurturing the Ampatuan clan. Thus—

 “While killings among ruling families in central Mindanao are not uncommon, the scale and brutality of the November 23 massacre far exceeded previous attacks in this violent region. It also focused international attention on ruling families like the Ampatuans, and the lawlessness that persists in much of the Philippines. Less scrutinized than the violence itself, however, but ultimately of greater significance, is the support that the national government provides such families throughout the country, and the near total impunity that their abusive militias enjoy. Successive national governments have not dismantled and disarmed these militia forces, as stipulated in the 1987 Philippine Constitution, nor have they investigated and prosecuted unlawful activities by those who control, arm, and use them for private ends.” (p. 3)

“The private army of the Ampatuan family may be among the most abusive in the Philippines, but it is just one among many. More than 100 private armies, large and small, are estimated to be operating throughout the Philippines, primarily but not exclusively in rural areas, and often but not always where there is an active insurgency. The level of direct government support for these militias varies, but if the Ampatuan example is any indication, a history of abuses is no disqualifier. So long as such official support continues, so will these forces and the atrocities for which they have been responsible.” (p. 6)

“The Arroyo government, in exchange for political support from the Ampatuans, tacitly permitted if not actually facilitated the strengthening of various militia forces, increasing the sale of military weaponry, and ensuring impunity for rights abuses in Maguindanao.xxx Under the Arroyo administration, militia forces under the control of the Ampatuans grew considerably. Insiders reported that President Arroyo was a regular visitor to the Ampatuan compound.” (p. 72)

“There are credible reports that the Ampatuans fraudulently manipulated the 2004 and 2007 elections in favor of Arroyo and her administration. In 2004, Maguindanao was one of the provinces mentioned on the ‘Hello Garci’ tapes, the tapes of wiretapped conversations between, among others, a man presumed to be Elections Commissioner Virgilio Garcillano and a woman alleged to be President Arroyo, which prompted allegations that Arroyo had rigged the 2004 elections. In two municipalities in Maguindanao, Ampatuan and Datu Piang, Arroyo’s opponent Fernando Poe, Jr. received zero votes; in two other municipalities he received five votes.” (p. 74)