News Update Noynoy urged to give clear orders on Ampatuan case in first SONA
Journalists and kin of victims of the November 23 Maguindanao massacre on Friday urged President Benigno Aquino III to use his first State of the Nation Address as an opportunity to give clear directives to speed up the trial of those charged with the killings. Aquino should once and for all order government agencies with a role in handling the multiple murder case to immediately act and give justice to all victims, National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) chair Nonoy Espina said during the eighth month commemoration of the massacre on Friday. “Sana naman sa Lunes, marinig natin ang magandang balita. Sana naman sa Lunes, maglabas ng utos. Ito ang hamon kay Noynoy Aquino (How we wish that on Monday, we will hear the good news. How we wish that on Monday, he issues the order. This is the challenge to Noynoy Aquino): give the order, tell them to stop the killing and give justice to all victims," Espina said. President Aquino is set to address Congress and deliver his first-ever SONA on Monday, July 26. (See: Aquino says SONA will 'shock' Filipinos)
IN COLD BLOOD A True Account of a Multiple Murder and its Consequences
To commemorate the eighth month since the massacre, a candle-lighting ceremony was held on Friday in Quezon City in front of the main office of UNTV broadcast network – whose four employees were among the 57 people who died in the grisly killing in Ampatuan town last November. In the said event, Editha Tiamson, wife of slain UNTV driver Daniel Tiamson, also appealed to Aquino to make the resolution of the Ampatuan massacre case a focal point of his speech on Monday. “Sana nga mabigyan niya ng pansin ito sa kanyang SONA. Si Justice secretary [Leila] de Lima naman, sinabi niya na tutukan niya ito (We hope he does give attention to it in his SONA. Justice secretary de Lima herself said she will focus on this)," she said in an interview with GMANews.TV.
Cold as Ice: A True Story of Murder, Disappearance, and the Multiple Lives of Drew Peterson
Tiamson likewise expressed hopes for speedier court proceedings under the Aquino administration. “Inaasahan namin ‘yung mabilis niyang pagtugon sa kaso namin. Alam namin isa rin s’yang biktima ng pagpatay (We are hoping for his quick action on our case. We know he himself is a victim of murder)," she said of President Aquino, whose father and namesake, the late Senator Benigno Aquino Jr., was killed on August 21, 1983 by aviation security troops, presumably the result of a plot of the late strongman Ferdinand Marcos. The multiple murder case trial against Andal Ampatuan Jr., primary suspect in the massacre, was suspended indefinitely five months ago pending resolution of motions filed before the Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 221. (See: Ampatuan multiple murder trial suspended indefinitely) Justice secretary De Lima said on Friday that she would urge presiding Judge Jocelyn Solis-Reyes to immediately resume the court proceedings to ensure the safety of witnesses, as well as members of the families of the massacre victims. (See: DOJ to remind QC court to immediately resume Ampatuan trial) —JV
