MANILA, Philippines — Sixteen years later, victims of the Maguindanao massacre, considered the deadliest event for media workers in history, are still reeling from the pain and struggling to find justice, particularly in recognizing the final victim of the killings.
The non-profit Center for International Law (CenterLaw) on Saturday said it will seek an urgent motion before the Court of Appeals (CA) to resolve the pending appeals in the Maguindanao massacre cases and to judicially recognize journalist Reynaldo Momay, the 58th victim in the killings.
Lawyer Gilbert Andres, CenterLaw’s executive director and legal counsel for 19 massacre victims, said his clients are “growing tired” of the unresolved matters pending before the CA.
However, there was one resolution where the appellate court denied the motion by former Maguindanao Gov. Zaldy Ampatuan, who asked to present additional evidence after one witness recanted his statement, according to Andres.
The second part of the motion involved another accused, police officer Bahnarin Kamaong, one of the officers who ordered the provision of firearms, filing a motion to admit bail, “but it was also denied, fortunately, by the CA,” Andres said.
The third part involved one accused, whom he did not identify, who only withdrew an appeal.
“That was the last resolution to date by the CA; I think it was March of 2025. But as of now, the appeals have not yet been deemed submitted for resolution, so we are still waiting for the decision of the appeal,” Andres said at a Zoom meeting with the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP), a clip of which was posted on the latter’s Facebook page.
“It’s very clear that the families we represent are still suffering from the traumas… especially now that we’ve entered the Ber months. They want a resolution from the CA already, regardless of what decision they come up with, as long as there will be closure because justice has yet to be served,” he explained.
The Dec. 19, 2019 decision by the Quezon City Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 221, which handled the entire case for years, was actually “not full justice” for the families of the victims, Andres pointed out.
This prompted the families to seek help from journalist groups, including the NUJP, to aid them in their “final push for justice.”
“The families have been saying that regardless of the decision, they want [the CA] to finally decide on the case because they want closure,” Andres said.
As for Momay, Andres said they have a pending motion seeking the victim’s recognition “straight from the court.”
“This is like a double whammy for his family since he was already a victim and he was not even recognized as a victim because the case against him was dismissed by the December 2019 consolidated partial decision [of the Quezon City RTC],” he said.
“In fact, it was a triple whammy because his remains had not been found,” Andres added.
Andres also called on the Philippine government to provide the long-delayed financial compensation to the families of all Maguindanao massacre victims, which he said is the country’s obligation under international law.
“Sixteen years is far too long. Sixteen years is an unconscionable burden on families who have already lost so much,” he said in a statement on Saturday. “Full justice must not only be promised — it must finally be delivered for the Maguindanao massacre victims.” /jpv