Members of the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) marched from Pureza street to Chino Roces bridge to demand justice for the 58 who perished in the bloodiest day in the history of journalism.
Exactly six years ago, 58 people were killed at Sito Masalay, Barangay Salman, Ampatuan, Maguindanao. 32 of those who died were media workers.
The NUJP lambasted the Aquino administration for failing to serve justice. The media group described the Ampatuan massacre as “the symbol of Noynoy Aquino’s term, a rutted, crooked path strewn with broken promises and a trail of blood.”
According to NUJP, 30 journalists perished during President Aquino’s term, with a total of 170 media workers killed since 1986.
Ampatuan clan patriarch Andal Ampatuan Sr. died of liver cancer early this year. His son, massacre suspect Sajid Islam Ampatuan is out on bail and close to half of the suspects implicated in the massacre still remain free.
The Philippines is considered 4th most dangerous country in the world for journalists, according to according to the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists’ (CPJ) Global Impunity Index.
International media rights group Reporters Without Borders consider the Ampatuan massacre as a tragedy which caused ‘the worst loss of life in one day in the history of journalism.’
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