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Inside Philippine politics & beyond

Political dynasties and the Maguindanao massacre

November 23, 2012

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Just my opinion

By Raïssa Robles

Assassinations seem to be an accepted part of our political culture. Every election season brings a body count, sometimes high, sometimes low. But always, ALWAYS, someone dies during election season.

Three years ago, 58 people in Ampatuan, Maguindanao including 33  journalists, died. Today, the massacre case is hardly moving.

A soldier guards the massacre site. My thanks to Jason Phillip Gutierrez of AFP for allowing me to share his photo, taken in November 2010.

The fact that the nation’s two biggest political parties have now adopted candidates from the Ampatuan family partly shows the reason why. For the nation’s politicians, the massacre is just part of the political game they play. Please recall that the accused murderers and many of the slain victims came from two political dynasties which were both allied to the political party in power then. The refusal of one dynasty to give way to the other was the root cause of the carnage.

And the slain  media men and women? Pawns and victims of that conflict.

Our elections are littered with the bodies of dead political rivals. And why not? Accused assassins are rewarded with political power. Remember that the young Ferdinand Marcos was accused of killing his father’s political rival and the nation’s top judge was so impressed with Marcos’ brilliant defense that he had him acquitted.

The political killing, Marcos’ arrest and acquittal catapulted him to national prominence and to the presidency. Ironically, another assassination of  a political rival – Benigno Aquino Jr.  – brought Marcos down 43 years later.

As I said, our post-war political history continues to be marked with killings. We’ve had no election season where no one died. It’s unheard of.

The fact that someone always dies every election season was brought home to me as highly unacceptable by a German political analyst. He asked me for a briefing on our politics. In turn, I asked him curiously what the body count was in a German election.

He looked at me oddly and exclaimed – “Of course we don’t have killings during elections. It’s not allowed.”

This led me to thinking why a largely Catholic nation has killings during elections even if these are not allowed by law and condemned by this religion.  And why many such killings remain unsolved to this day.

I think it’s because few want to give up political power. It’s because we have the rule of clans and of dynasties who have weapons, assassins, armed goons, and state-paid civilian militia men at their disposal.

One way to reduce political killings is to impose the constitutional ban on political dynasties. A ban will not stop killings altogether. But  I believe it will reduce killings greatly.

And guess what – all our political parties don’t want to do that because in reality they are groupings of dynasties and to them, dynasties are good. Their families are God’s gifts to the nation.

That’s the heart of our political problem.

Why not have a law where, if one politician is killed during election season (defined as starting on the last day of filing of certificates of candidacies until election day) all those contesting the same office would automatically be disqualified and new candidates allowed to run instead? That way, they will guard each other’s back. Just a thought, I know. Suntok sa buwan.

[Note: In remembrance of the massacre, I would like to share with you a piece I wrote for South China Morning Post three months ago entitled “Case of the Vanishing Witnesses”:

When a widow of one of the 58 victims of the Maguindanao massacre told Philippine President Benigno Aquino that she feared for her life, Aquino ordered she be given protection.
The first bodyguard assigned to Myrna Reblando appeared to be reliable, until one day he apologetically told her he had asked for a transfer, because ‘I’m not Superman who can deflect all the bullets of the enemy’.

Another bodyguard was assigned.

It wasn’t long before she discovered, through casual conversation, that he was a former security escort of Zaldy Ampatuan, the governor of the Muslim Autonomous Region of Maguindanao, who is alleged to have conspired to commit the massacre November 23, 2009.

Reblando has good reason to be scared.

To read the rest, please click on this link:

 

Tagged With: Ampatuan, assassinations, Ferdinand Marcos, Maguindanao massacre

Comments

  1. Johnny Lin says

    December 1, 2012 at 5:53 AM

    Latest Inquirer News:
    “Enrile says, If I Don’t Believe in my own Son, Who Will”

    In the interview, hae also said he trained his son since his birth!

    Jackie Enrile was prominent as a bully, abusive and alleged killer during martial law era.
    Enrile as the Enforcer of Martial Law trained Jackie well.

    “Lemon fruit does not fall far from the tree” affirms Enrile!

    • duquemarino says

      December 1, 2012 at 7:09 AM

      @Johnny lin
      I agree. As the song goes, “….lemon tree very pretty and the lemon flower is sweet, but the fruit of that poor lemon is impossible to eat.”

  2. Johnny Lin says

    November 30, 2012 at 8:04 PM

    Latest News ABS CBN

    OKADA gave $30 million to Rodolfo Soriano former Pagcor consultant, friend Genuino and Mike Arroyo.
    Here is the big deal.
    OKADA gaming casino in Philippines obtained its license in 2008.

    Since then Okada was trying to get corporate discount to maximize casino profit more than their income in Macau or Las Vegas.

    GMA in March 2010 3 months before leaving office approved silently to grant the corporate discount on Okada casino.

    Do the math, no brainer, someone got a big bribe thru government influence. How much went to Mike and GMA? To Genuino? to Soriano?

  3. yeheywater says

    November 29, 2012 at 7:39 PM

    A foreign TV nightly news forecast an hour ago that a storm is brewing and specifically stated that it is heading to the Philippines. The synopsis shows, it will be coming from the southeast (Micronesia and Palau area), and will be felt by Monday.

    Looking at the map, General Santos City and Davao is on its path. Be prepared Pilipinas…take care, you all.

« Older Comments
First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out— Because I was not a Socialist Then they came fof the Trade Unionists, and I did not out speak out— Because I was not a Trade Unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out— Because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me— And there was no one left to speak for me. —Martin Niemöller (1892-1984)

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