Last Monday, March 29, right after our victory and protest action at Manila after the release of the PUP 5 and after the successful junking of the almost 2,000% tuition hike proposal in the Polytechnic University of the Philippines, the Regional Trial Court of Quezon City released a decision junking the rebellion case against the Ampatuans for the mass murder of journalists and their political opponents in Maguindanao a few months ago.

We immediately massed up at the nearest public space, at the 11th World Scout Jamboree Memorial Rotunda at the intersection of Tomas Morato and Timog Avenue, to do a protest action. We condemned the Arroyo government for the obvious design of the charges against her Maguindanao allies. The weak and ill-filed cases were meant to collapse in order to protect the Ampatuans from their hideous acts. It also paved the way for the Arroyo government to experiment and twist the meaning of “rebellion” to suit its suspicious political needs.

Today, we should continue to demand for justice for the victims of the heinous massacre and their families, and to demand for accountability from the administration that tolerated and perpetuated the warlord family that has reigned the poverty-stricken province for more than a decade.

Members of Kabataan Partylist lit candles in remembrance of the victims of the mass murder allegedly perpetuated by the Ampatuan clan in Maguindanao