Nov 24 2009
Gruesome Murders in the Philippines Highlight Election Violence
The discovery of 46 bodies of lawyers, journalists and family members of a politician in the Philippines, has caused national outrage, leading to President Arroyo declaring a state of emergency. The victims, more than a dozen of whom were women, were abducted by gunmen on Monday in Maguindanao, a province on the southern Philippine island of Mindanao. Many of their bodies were found beheaded and dumped into mass graves. The gruesome violence comes just before a deadline for people to file their candidacy for next May’s election. Relatives of the deputy mayor of the town of Buluan were among the victims who were traveling to file papers. The deputy mayor had plans to run for governor of Maguindanao. All twelve journalists traveling with the group were also killed. President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has vowed to initiate a full investigation and sent military and national police units to the region.
GUEST: Renato Reyes Jr. Secretary General of Bayan Philippines, Kuusela Hilo, Vice Chair of Bayan USA.
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2 Responses to “Gruesome Murders in the Philippines Highlight Election Violence”
I remember the people pf old Philippines where I grew up as caring and kind to others. To be called kidnapping capital of the world is a shame. No matter how poor we are we were nurtured to care for each other and the word “kidnapping” does not even exist in our native languages and dialects. Ours is a lush, fertile country, by God’s blessings we have survived and will continue to survive. We not have to kidnap and kill.
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