Democracy in the Philippines has been torn almost routinely by violence, especially during election campaigns. On November 23, a mass killing was perpetrated in the southern province of Maguindanao that left at least 57 civilians, including 18 Filipino journalists, dead. The massacre was the worst mass killing of journalists in history. Among the slain were the wife and two sisters of gubernatorial candidate Ismael Mangudadatu. Philippine president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo responded to the attack by declaring a state of emergency in two southern provinces to restore law and order in the region. Protests have mounted demanding justice for the victims.
Police and soldiers continued searching for bodies, as the death toll from the massacre rose. In recent years, the Philippines has been among the deadliest countries in the world for journalists to engage in their profession. Since 1986, 109 journalists have lost their lives there, according to the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility based in the country’s capital, Manila. Only rarely have the actual killers of journalists been prosecuted, and individuals suspected of ordering the killings have escaped justice.
The chief suspect in the mass killing, Andal Ampatuan Jr., turned himself in to police but claimed to be innocent. A local mayor and the son of Maguindanao’s governor, Ampatuan belongs to a powerful clan that has supported President Arroyo’s government, even using its private militia to fight secessionist and Islamist insurgencies in Maguindanao. A respected Philippine newspaper credits Governor Ampatuan with giving Arroyo and her political allies victories in the 2004 presidential election and a recent senatorial contest.
Image ©Alanah M. Torralba/epa/Corbis
Related Links
- Philippine Election Massacre Prompts Emergency Measures
This article reports the initial story of a massacre in Maguindanao, the Philippines, prior to an election.
(Source: The Guardian, November 24, 2009) - Philippine Massacre Suspect Turns Himself In, Military Still Pursuing Gunmen
This story recounts the early results of the Filipino police investigation into the election-related violence that claimed the lives of some 57 civilians.
(Source: VOA News, November 26, 2009) - Election Violence Hits New Heights in Philippines
This PBS NewsHour article puts the election-related violence in the Philippines in the context of the country’s bitter civil strife; includes link to an audio interview with a correspondent for the New York Times working in the Philippines.
(Source: Public Broadcasting System, November 27, 2009) - One Dangerous Place for Reporters
This opinion piece focuses on the ongoing danger to journalists in the Philippines.
(Source: The Globe and Mail, November 30, 2009)
- Summarize What events led President Arroyo of the Philippines to declare a state of emergency in two southern provinces?
- Make Inferences How might democratic participation in the Philippines be affected by the recent events?
- Form and Support Opinions What can the Philippine government do to promote justice and the rule of law and protect freedom of the press?
Code-switching Taglish and Englog are names given to a mix of English and Tagalog. The amount of English vs.Tagalog veairs from the occasional use of English loan words to outright code-switching where the language changes in mid-sentence. Such code-switching is prevalent throughout the Philippines and in various of the languages of the Philippines other than Tagalog. Nasire0 ang computer ko kahapon! : My computer broke yesterday! Huwe1g kang maninigarilyo, because it is harmful to your health. : Don’t smoke cigarettes, Code switching also entails the use of foreign words that are Filipinized by reforming them using Filipino rules, such as verb conjugations. Users typically use Filipino or English words, whichever comes to mind first or whichever is easier to use. Magshoshopping kami sa mall. Sino ba ang magdadrive sa shoppingan? : We will go shopping at the mall. Who will drive to the shopping center anyway? Although it is generally looked down upon, code-switching is prevalent in all levels of society; however, city-dwellers, the highly educated, and people born around and after World War II are more likely to do it. Politicians as highly placed as President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo have code-switched in interviews. The practice is common in television, radio, and print media as well. Advertisements from companies like Wells Fargo, Wal-Mart, Albertsons, McDonald’s, and Western Union have contained Taglish. The Chinese and the non-Tagalog communities in the Philippines also frequently code-switch their language, be it Cebuano or Min Nan Chinese, with Taglish.
what are they taking about exactly?