Justice has finally been served. It has been a long and rigorous process in obtaining justice for the 58 victims of the most deadly incident of electoral violence and attack on the press in the history of the country.
This day will forever be etched in history as the day justice did not tolerate homicidal and monstrous abuse of power. By means of this guilty verdict, we are reminded that warlords have no place in a democracy, but are its very anti-thesis.
This victory would have never been achieved without the persistent private prosecutors who, since day one, have refused to succumb to the pressures and challenges of this case. I laud the efforts of the lawyers from the National Prosecution Service who fought tooth and nail to ensure that no stone is left unturned in what has been regarded as the ‘Trial of the Century’. Their efforts have proven that we will not take violence and impunity sitting down.
I also commend Judge Jocelyn Solis Reyes, who tediously heard the case and had deferred career advancement, in the name of delivering complete justice to the victims of this gruesome crime. Judge Reyes will be remembered for how she tirelessly weighed and appreciated the facts, which led to the conviction of the Maguindanao mass murderers.
But, in spite of this victory, there is still injustice out there. This is why justice needs to be a continuing cycle wherein accountability continues to be exacted from those who abuse their power to maintain a stranglehold on their position. Hanggang patuloy na namamayagpag ang kawalan ng pananagutan sa lipunan, hindi magiging patas ang sistema na magpapatupad ng tunay at ganap na hustisya. ###
(Access the handwritten version of Dispatch from Crame No. 681, here: https://issuu.com/senatorleil…/…/dispatch_from_crame_no._681)