The Philippines and the whole world is aghast with the massacre that happened in Maguindanao in the island of Mindanao. As of this writing, the death toll stands at 57 and it could be higher as investigators are still excavating the crime scene. 34 of those killed were journalists.
To quickly summarize the events: Last November 23, 2009 armed men abducted and killed political rivals of the provincial governor, along with the media folks. The perpetrators tried to cover up the crime by burying the bodies, and even the vehicles of the victims.The harrowing images of the victims sent a collective chill through the spine of the country-- people are dumbfounded that a country, supposedly as civilized as the Philippines, would be a place a massacre of such magnitude happen. Global media has tagged the Philippines as the most dangerous place for journalists, beating places like Iraq, Afghanistan, and Somalia.
How could something like this happen? Well, here in the country, there are still warlords in the provinces who have a stranglehold on their territories. This is very common in rural areas, especially in the island of Mindanao where the governors/local officials are political strong men with their private armies. (The massacre was purportedly carried out by the private army of the governor.)
What I find ironic is that during the day I first learned about this tragedy, I read this article in Business World entitled "Betting on Mindanao," which showed optimism on the region of Mindanao, where the province of Maguindanao is located. Said by the author: "Mindanao is a success story waiting to happen."
With what happened in the region, Mindanao became a tragedy waiting to happen because of Magiundanao. If people were to bet in Mindanao, it will be a losing bet, no thanks to Maguindanao and its leaders.
Tags: Maguindanao Massacre
