In the run-up to the May 10 national elections, the treacherous Grloria Macapagal-Arroyo regime is now pulling all the stops  for the eventual  exoneration of its No. 1 warlord allies in Mindanao – the members of the Ampatuan clan --  who are the principal accused in the barbaric November 23 Ampatuan Massacre.

THE ORDER of acting Justice Secretary Alberto Agra for state prosecutors to drop the multiple murder charges against Zaldy and Akmad Ampatuan in connection with the Ampatuan Massacre of 2009 has understandably aroused suspicions of political interference.

AN EASTER MANIFESTO

a passover for the Filipino People

1. We are a spiritual people blessed with a living faith that has seen us through critical moments of our history. Today, even greater faith in a merciful God and in ourselves as a nation is called for. Past obstacles that have blocked our path towards nationhood pale in comparison with the amoral brutishness the Arroyo regime has been using to unravel the moral fiber of our people. The relentless battering to which this administration is subjecting the country threatens to break the indomitable spirit of the Filipino. No institution of our democratic system has been spared. No sector of society left  unmolested. Long standing traditions have been violated.

The news about the killing of Gensun Agustin (Anti-mining activist shot dead in Cagayan 03/02/2010) immediately brought to mind the recent murder of another anti-mining advocate, Ricardo Ganad who was gunned down just a few weeks before on February 10 in Victoria, Mindoro Oriental where as President of the Association of Barangay Captains he advocated against the Mindoro Nickel Project of Intex Resources.

Today, March 3, 2010, we mark the 100^th day since the November 23 Ampatuan Massacre, when 32 of our colleagues, along with 25 other people, were slaughtered in the worst election-related violence in our history and the worst single attack on the press ever.

The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) calls on colleagues to wear black ribbons on their left sleeves to commemorate this day as part of our efforts to keep this incident in the public consciousness until justice is attained.