Editorial

resistance and criticism of authorities that are held accountable for their powers, the detained senator stressed the importance of a free press to inform citizens and keep democracy working.

An informed, critical citizenry will not exempt the press from its vigilance and scrutiny since the powers of reporters, editors, and publishers can be wielded to serve interests that conflict with public welfare.

Towards the end of September 2020, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco) reclassified the Maguindanao Massacre case as “ongoing or unresolved” in response to an appeal sent by over 100 individual and organizational signatories after the Unesco considered the case “resolved” in early September.

Fifty-eight people were massacred, including 32 journalists, and buried in mass graves in the town of Ampatuan in Maguindanao Province on Nov. 23, 2009.

In December 2019, 28 principals, including eight members of the Ampatuan clan, were found guilty of the then 10-year-old mass killing. The Quezon City Regional Trial Court ordered the arrest of 80 suspects, who, up to this writing, remain at large.

In retaining the Maguindanao or Ampatuan Massacre as “ongoing or unresolved” in the Unesco Observatory of slain journalists, the international organization underscores the continuing obligation of the Philippine judicial system to resolve the injustice committed against 58 victims and their families. To bring the guilty to justice, there is no sleep for the vigilant.