Philippines committed to giving justice to Maguindanao massacre victims

The Philippine government remains committed to serving justice to the victims of the Maguindanao massacre and their families, a senior government official said Monday.

Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda made the remarks as the country commemorates the gruesome killings of 58 people, 32 of them media practitioners, on Nov. 23, 2009 in southern Philippine province of Maguindanao.

Lacierda said the Aquino administration, like everyone else, wants the case to be resolved as soon as possible, contrary to criticisms that the government lacks political will to put closure on the massacre.

"Make no mistake, we are very concerned also. We would certainly like to have the trial of the Ampatuan case hastened as well and, in fact, we do want to see a decision before the president leaves office. But is it something within our control? That is not within our control," Lacierda said during a news briefing in Malacanang, the presidential palace.

He noted that it is the Supreme Court that has administrative supervision over the courts hearing the case.

Since the judiciary is an independent branch of government, the executive branch can only convey to it the concerns of the public, "as we are also concerned with the pace of the trial," he explained.

Six years have passed and yet there was no conviction among the nearly 200 suspects in the massacre and some of them have even remained at large.

The Maguindanao massacre, considered as the worst election-related incident in the Philippines, was allegedly perpetrated by members of the powerful Ampatuan clan. Endit