"Incredulously impossible to forget."
That's how Maguindanao 2nd district Rep. Esmael "Toto" Mangudadatu described the pain he felt because of the bloody "Maguindanao Massacre," the 11th anniversary of which was marked on Monday.
(Photo by LJ Pasion / MANILA BULLETIN FILE PHOTO)
"They say that there is no wound that time could not heal. This could be true for some. Maybe time indeed has healed the once gaping wounds that has left us numb to the very fiber of our beings…but for most, if not all who are here with us would agree that what has transpired on that fateful November 23 morning 11 years ago is incredulously impossible to forget," Mangudadatu said in a speech at Barangay Masalan, Ampatuan town, in his district.
His wife, Bailey Genalyn, was among the 58 people killed in what has been described as the worst incident of election-linked violence in the country's history.
That Mangudadatu still feels the way he does over a decade after says a lot, considering that he has already attained justice for the carnage.
"Losing our love ones that day has totally changed our lives in ways that others can only fathom and imagine. I cannot stress enough how my family was affected and how my children, who suffered the most, contend life with their own grief. And because of this pain, walang sinuman ang pwedeng magsasabi sa atin na, “nakamit mo na ang hustisya, move on na (nobody can ever tell us, 'you've already achieved justice, it's time to move on)," the congressman said.
"They do not know the pain we endured just to make it through another day. They do not know our anguish. The many sleepless, listless nights we’ve spent and the many dreaded days we’ve confronted. They do not know the suffering, the fury and the anger that we once harbored in our hearts," he added.
On December 19, 2019, Quezon City Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 221 Judge Jocelyn Solis-Reyes found guilty of multiple murder former Datu Unsay mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr., former Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao governor Zaldy Ampatuan, Anwar Ampatuan Sr., Anwar "Ipi" Ampatuan Jr., and Anwar Sajid "Ulo" Ampatuan, among others in connection with the massacre.
They were sentenced to reclusion perpetua or a maximum of 40 years in jail without parole. They've been behind bars since late 2009 at the Metro Manila District Jail (MMDJ) in Camp Bagong Diwa, Taguig City, along with their fellow accused.
The trial took over 10 years to complete, as the court had to consider a total of 197 respondents--most of them alleged members of the Ampatuan's private army. Over a hundred are still at large.
The Ampatuans and Mangudadatus are long-time political rivals.