Maguindanao Year 4: PCIJ docus
on media murders in campus tour

IN COMMEMORATION of the fourth anniversary of the Ampatuan massacre, the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ), together with other media organizations such as the Freedom Fund for Filipino Journalists (FFFJ) and the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP), has been holding a series of documentary screenings in various colleges and universities.

On November 15, the PCIJ partnered with the Journalism Club of the University of the Philippines – Diliman for the first leg of the campus roadshow. About forty to fifty students – a mix of freshmen, sophomores, juniors and seniors – attended the activity, which showcased the PCIJ documentary “Angkan Inc.”. The documentary features the clans of Maguindanao and the dynamics of history, culture, tradition, and politics in the province that gave rise to influential political families such as the Ampatuan clan, whose patriarch has been tagged as the mastermind in the 2009 Maguindanao Massacre where 58 people, including 32 journalists, were murdered.

The Angkan, Inc. documentary was produced by the PCIJ with assistance from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

The second leg of the campus roadshow was held at the Centro Escolar University last November 18, where about a hundred Mass Communication students attended. PCIJ Multimedia Director Ed Lingao served as the main speaker for the activity. He presented PCIJ documentaries on media killings and the culture of impunity. Among the cases discussed were the killings of Marlyn Esperat, the first journalist to expose the P700 million fertilizer fund scam where former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo was implicated, and Palawan environmental broadcaster Gerry Ortega.

The third leg was held at the University of the Philippines – Los Banos last November 19. The documentary showing and discussion were attended not only by UPLB students, but also by high school and college students from nearby towns and cities. With theme,”Clan Feuds and the Press: Maguindanao Massacre Four Years After” , the forum featured the Angkan Inc. documentary and discussions from FFFJ Legal Counsel Atty. Prima Jesusa Quinsayas and Ed Lingao.