IN COMMEMORATION of the fifth anniversary of the Maguindanao massacre, various members of student groups, media and human rights organizations convened in Quezon Hall at the University of the Philippines-Diliman (UPD) last November 21 and marched in unison around the UP Academic Oval in silent protest.

On November 23, 2009, the Maguindanao massacre took away 58 lives at the height of the local and national election season. Out of the total fatalities, 32 were journalists, causing the gruesome mass murder to be dubbed by the Committee to Protect Journalists as the “the single deadliest event for journalists in history.”

Protesters donned black shirts during the march and most of them covered their mouths with gags in support of their advocacy. Every so often, the rest of the crowd burst in screaming chants that fired their anger at the Aquino administration.

After the protesters returned to Quezon Hall, students and organization leaders delivered their solidarity speeches in the spirit of ending impunity and attaining long-delayed justice. Red candles were lit as tribute to the massacre victims.

The silent march served as the penultimate event before culminating Break Free: End Impunity Now!, a weeklong protest that aimed to raise awareness on pertinent media and national issues, and campaigned for media literacy among students.

Break Free was organized by the Union of the Journalists of the Philippines-UPD and Student Alliance for the Advancement of Democratic Rights in UP-College of Mass Communication (Stand UP – CMC).

In retrospect

While the march was centered on the commemoration of the Maguindanao massacre, it also sought to remember other events that involve human rights violations and media killings.

At the front line of the protest was Beata Carolino, the Chair of the UP-CMC Student Council. During the march, she was on the megaphone, reminding the UP community about the horrors of the killings that continue to haunt local media and the nation as a whole.

“This whole silent march is not just about the [Maguindanao] massacre. It’s centered there but it comprises all events that involve impunity,” Carolino declared. Break Free shed light on such events, including the Hacienda Luisita massacre, the onslaught of Typhoon Yolanda and the killing of Jennifer Laude.

Another student leader, Stand UP Chair Charlotte France, was no different. In an interview with The GUIDON, she said that her group’s main advocacy is to uphold the right to education. When asked why they were pursuing the aforementioned issues, she explained that her group acknowledges the fact that discussions on education cannot be separated from discourses on external issues affecting the larger society.

“There is a need to unite with different sectors because they are part of the movement to address the fundamental problem of the society,” France said, referring to the slow-moving justice system in the country.

‘Kultura ng walang pakundangan’

The phrase ‘kultura ng walang pakundangan’ was repeated throughout the solidarity speeches of Carolino and France in Quezon Hall.

Carolino told The GUIDON that the phrase refers to the “culture of impunity,” although it remains only as the closest translation. She explained that the term is a Western concept, and is relatively new in the Philippine context.“Impunity is a cyclic kind of non-accountability, [or] a cyclic kind of escape from the hands of justice,” she said in a mix of English and Filipino.

France was very vocal about impunity in her solidarity speech. “Ang kultura ng walang pakundangan ay nananatili hanggang sa kasalukuyan, at kapag hindi ito napagtagumpayan ng taong-bayan na mawasak at matanggal sa lipunan, magpapatuloy po ito hanggang sa ating mga hinaharap. (This culture of impunity will continue to persist and if our fellow citizens do not successfully break and remove this from our society, this culture will be passed onto the succeeding generations),” she argued.

Due to the static progress of justice in the country, France said that people would eventually forget about these issues considering their respective time frames. Aside from the five-year drought of the Maguindanao case, she recalled the Hacienda Luisita massacre, which happened a decade ago. She added that justice has yet to be served for both cases.

Meanwhile, Benjie Oliveros, spokesperson and national coordinator of alternative media organization Altermidya, remains optimistic that justice could be achieved through the actions of the citizens. “Sa katunayan, nasa ating kamay [ang hustisya], [at] tanging ang mamamayan lamang ang makakapagpanagot ng malalaking kasalanan sa mamamayan. (Truly, [justice] is in our hands, [and] only the citizens will be able to pay for their sins against their fellow citizens),” he said.

Youth participation

Both Carolino and France believe that the youth has a critical role in forwarding the movement to resolve the pending cases and put pressure on the authorities involved in the said issues.

Carolino says that the burden of youth participation lies on the shoulders of the student-leaders. “This is a collective action, but in order to have a collective fight, the student-leaders need to take the initiative to raise the awareness of the issues to their constituents,” she explained.

France believes consistency is the key in order to strengthen their fight for justice. She says that there is a tendency for these issues to become stagnant, thus waning their movement as well. “The challenge for students and other sectors to reinforce their lobbies still remains,” she said.

Back in Palma Hall, Cristina Palabay, Secretary General of Karapatan: Alliance for the Advancement of People’s Rights, said that “likes” and “comments” on Facebook are not enough these days for the youth to show their support to the fight against impunity.

“Ang panahon po na ito ay naghahanap ng konkretong aksyon para ipaglaban ang hustisya, para ipaglaban ang ating mga karapatan dito sa ating bayan (This period in time is seeking concrete actions to fight for justice and our nation’s rights),” she added.