December 2, 2009
By Maurice Malanes and Leanne Larmondin

MANILA/TORONTO – Religious leaders in the Philippines have joined human rights groups in scrutinizing the trial of suspects in the killings of more than 50 people in the south of the country.

"A genuine trial is what we want to see," the Rev. Rex Reyes, general secretary of the National Council of Churches in the Philippines, told Ecumenical News International after the arrest on Nov. 26 of Andal Ampatuan Jr., the mayor of Datu Unsay in Maguindanao province.

The mayor had turned himself in to government authorities after the Nov. 23 killing of 57 people, who were massacred on their way to file documents for a political leader's candidacy for an election in May 2010.

On Dec. 2, Philippines police asked the justice department also to file charges against the mayor's father, Datu Andal Ampatuan Sr., governor of Maguindanao province, 930 kilometers (577 miles) south of Manila. Ampatuan Sr. and four other relatives were among 12 suspects recommended by police to face charges, the GMANews.TV website reported.

The Ampatuans have denied involvement in the killings, blaming rogue Muslim rebels for the attack, the Reuters news agency reported.

Twenty seven of those killed were journalists, drawing condemnation from local and overseas media groups.

Meanwhile, Kairos, a Canadian ecumenical justice coalition, condemned the Philippines massacre, whose victims included two of its human rights partners.

Toronto-based Kairos, which represents seven religious denominations, also called on the Canadian and Philippine governments to act swiftly to ensure justice and human rights in the Philippines.

The coalition urged the Canadian government to express to Filipino authorities the concern of Canadians over the massacre, and to ensure that human rights are upheld in their country.

Kairos made particular note of two of its partners who died: attorneys Concepcion Brizuela and Cynthia Oquendo, who were members of the Union of Peoples Lawyers in Mindanao.

Connie Sorio, a member of Kairos' staff who recently returned from a trip to the region, said of the massacre, "It is a grim testimony to the pervading culture of impunity and lack of respect for human rights in the Philippines."

The NCCP's Reyes and other church leaders called for a thorough probe of the massacre and justice for the victims even if the suspected perpetrators, allegedly led by political warlords, are allies of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

Reyes also reiterated the National Council of Churches' call for an end to political "warlordism."

"We call on the president to exert her leadership most forcefully in this regard so that this great wound on our national psyche and on our democratic institution be bandaged and healed before it opens up into more tragic consequences," Reyes said in a Nov. 26 statement also signed by Cardinal Gaudencio Rosales of Manila and two other bishops.

Episcopal News Service
Ecumenical News International