Journalists’ group slams promotion of Army exec

DAVAO CITY—The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) questioned the promotion of the Army colonel, who had rejected a request for security escorts for the 58 people, 32 of them journalists, who died almost five years ago in the Maguindanao massacre.

Rowena Paraan, NUJP chair, said in an e-mailed statement that the promotion of Army Col. Medardo Geslani to brigadier general was an insult to the memory of the victims, whose families were still looking for justice 55 months after the worst election-related violence perpetrated by the Ampatuan political clan and 200 of their armed men.

“This is the second time that an Army officer, whose inaction al- lowed the massacre to happen, has been promoted,” Paraan said.

Geslani, the commander of the 601st Brigade with jurisdiction over Ampatuan town in Maguindanao province at the time of the massacre, refused the request of then Buluan vice mayor now Maguindanao Gov. Esmael Mangudadatu for security escorts for a convoy of women and journalists, which was to file his certificate of candidacy on the fateful day. Mangudadatu lost his wife and sister to the carnage.

“[Geslani’s] failure, or more accurately, refusal to act on a request from Mangudadatu for security escorts for the convoy, may have sealed the fate of the Ampatuan 58,” Paraan said. Aside from his refusal to provide security es- corts, Geslani also knew when scores of gunmen had stopped the convoy in Barangay Salman, Ampatuan, and had taken the vehicles toward the hinterlands, followed by a backhoe, she added.

Before him, retired Lt. Gen. Alfredo Cayton was promoted from his former rank of major general, and commanding officer of the 6th Infantry Division, who had jurisdiction over Maguindanao. On the day of the massacre, Cayton assured the journalists who perished in the convoy that it was perfectly safe to travel from Buluan to Shariff Aguak, she said.

“It boggles the mind how the Army, which never ceases to boast of its intelligence prowess, could have missed the fact that three days before the massacre, Maguindanao police and members of the Ampatuan clan’s private militia had already set up checkpoints on the highway leading to the provincial capital,” Paraan said.

“Or that as early as then, word was spreading like wildfire that the family that ruled Maguindanao had vowed never to allow Mangudadatu to run against their own.”

“For Benigno Aquino III to approve Geslani’s promotion is yet another betrayal of his promise to make justice and human rights the cornerstone of his presidency,” Paraan said. “It shows quite clearly President Aquino’s commitment to ensure justice for the Ampatuan 58,” Paraan said.