Massacre kin decry videos

BULUAN, Maguindanao, Philippines – Relatives of the 57 civilians murdered in Maguindanao last Nov. 23 are protesting the proliferation of video discs showing footage taken shortly after the massacre.

“The Heirs of 11/23 Maguindanao Heroes,” an organization comprising the families of the massacre victims, cried foul over the discs, saying this will cause more pain and trauma to the relatives, particularly the children, who will be reminded over and over of their parents’ horrible fate.

“It is an added insult to injury. They should respect us (victims’ families) particularly our children who are still in trauma because of the incident. If the children watch the DVDs, especially the little ones, they will be more traumatized,” the group’s vice-chairman Police Officer 1 Eliver Cablitas told The STAR.

Cablitas’ wife, Maritess, was one of the journalists brutally killed in the election-related massacre.

The families appealed to the Optical Media Board (OMB) to stop the production of the discs and confiscate copies sold in different key cities of Mindanao and in Luzon.

The group also appealed to the media to stop promoting the “showing” of “Maguindanao Massacre 11/23/09” by saying where and how the public can obtain the discs.

“Be responsible. If you want to write something, make it worthy. Don’t be an avenue of those people who made those DVDs to promote their illegal goods because it does not help the situation. Please stop convincing the families too to buy a copy of it. Do not make us think that you are also profiting from the discs,” Cablitas said.

A copy of the disc is now being sold at a staggering price of P200-P300 each.

The disc contains two hours of raw footage taken from the massacre area itself at Sitio Masalay, Barangay Salman, Ampatuan, Maguindanao.

It contains disturbing and graphic scenes of mutilated bodies, close-ups of blown-up faces shattered by high-powered firearms.

Justice fund for massacre victims

Meanwhile, the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) announced the creation of the Justice Fund last Friday, the 40th day of the Maguindanao massacre.

In a press statement, NUJP national chair Nestor Burgos explained that the Justice Fund “seeks to raise the necessary finances that will help address the needs of the families of the victims of the massacre including a trauma counseling program, the implementation of a training program for the local media community and supporting the legal and advocacy efforts to seek justice for the victims.”

Meanwhile, the Senate has yet to act on a resolution pending before the chamber that enjoins every senator to donate at least P100,000 from their Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) to help the victims of the Maguindanao massacre.

Records showed that Senate Resolution 1253 introduced by Sen. Lito Lapid remains “pending in the committee” before Congress went into Christmas break last Dec. 18. - Rose Tamayo-Tesoro, Christina Mendez, Dino Balabo