Families of Ampatuan massacre victims urged the Court of Appeals (CA) to hand down its long-pending ruling on their appeal for damages 16 years after the brutal killings, their legal counsel said.
“They’re still suffering from that trauma,” human rights lawyer Gilbert Andres said in a video released by the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines on Saturday.
“Gusto na nila ang resolution ng CA, kahit ano man iyon, basta magkaroon sila ng closure kasi hindi pa rin kumpleto ‘yong justice na kanilang tinatamasa,” Andres said.
As of writing, 44 perpetrators have been convicted — 43 by a Quezon City Regional Trial Court’s (QC RTC) 2019 ruling and one other — but around 80 others remain at large, Andres added.
He also said the victims’ families are still pushing for the court to recognize Reynaldo “Bebot” Momay as among the victims of the massacre in Ampatuan, Maguindanao.
The 2019 decision did not include Momay in the list of victims, as his remains were not recovered, although part of his dentures and jacket were found at the massacre site.
The QC RTC’s ruling convicting 43 individuals in the case remains pending before the appellate court.
“Iyong partial consolidated decision noong December 19, 2019, hindi pa rin sa kanila full justice iyon,” he added.
A total of 58 individuals, 32 of whom were media workers, were killed in an ambush while en route to the filing of Esmael Mangudadatu’s gubernatorial candidacy in Ampatuan, Maguindanao, on Nov. 23, 2009. The Ampatuan massacre is among the world’s single deadliest attacks against journalists.
