Espejo: Philippine massacre trial -- Why blame the media?

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

THE pattern is re-emerging. As if it really went away.

On Monday, presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda blamed the media for not giving enough information on the progress of the Ampatuan massacre trial.

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“The media has not given as much attention as it should be giving,” he reportedly complained.

His warped assessment of the ongoing trial came after the Social Weather Station (SWS) released the results of its survey on public perception of the speed of the massacre trial.

Three of four Filipino respondents said they are dissatisfied with the progress of the trial even if 67 per cent of the respondents are ‘closely’ following the case, down by three percentage points from November last year.
The survey also indicated the satisfaction rating of President Benigno Aquino III also dropped due to the snail-paced trial.

We have heard Lacierda’s line of defense so many times before. Blaming the media for a drop in the popularity of presidents since surveys have become regular indicators of public pulse.

But the presidential spokesman could not have been farther and detached from the truth. In fact, he may not be keenly following the case himself. For his sake, almost all major dailies are religiously carrying stories on the massacre trial. Otherwise, the people could not have made their conclusion that government prosecutors are not exactly on their toes and that the wheels of justice are almost grinding to a stand still for all the massacre victims.

It has been close to 18 months since 57 people were mercilessly mowed down, 32 of them journalists and media workers. Yet not all suspects and conspirators are arraigned in court.

The media has never been remiss in its duty to accurately report what is going on inside the courtroom. But it can only do so much.

The justice system is so tailored for the moneyed people that it can literally buy time.

The Ampatuan massacre, which happened on November 23, 2009, was single biggest election-related political violence in the history of the Philippines.

It also put the country in the world map on violence against the media.

The 32 casualties belonging to media earned the Ampatuan massacre the notoriety of incurring the biggest casualty of journalists over a single incident of violence against the media.

That alone should prompt the government to get their acts together and consolidate all efforts to speedily prosecute all the guilty parties in the gruesome and barbaric murders.

If there is anyone more than willing to see this case come to an end, it is the media.

The massacre was the culmination of the reign of the culture of impunity in the country.

The media has had more than its share in the ever-growing list of victims of such wanton killings.

The last thing Lacierda should blame is the media.