Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Blood of Maguindanao massacre victims in the hands of authorities

MOTIVATIONS FOR KILLING 40 PLUS PEOPLE IN MAGUINDANAO: What kind of anger and rage will drive a man to kill, in one bunch, a group of 40 plus people composed mostly of women and media personalities, such as that which happened in Maguindanao in Mindanao Monday, November 23, 2009?

Could it be anger and rage that someone had dared to fight against the usually-unopposed candidate of a politically-powerful clan? Or could it be anger and rage against someone who, because of his work in the media, have been exposing corruption and other abuses of someone in power?

Could it also be because of the irreversibly drug-crazed mind of whoever masterminded the killings, such that the gruesome death of about 40 or so people, including 13 journalists and two lady lawyers who were there only because they were trying to make a living, did not really matter to him at all?

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JOSEPH JUBELAG OF MINDANAO BULLETIN SAVED BY INSTINCT: Joseph Jubelag, one of the three mediamen who escaped this carnage at Masalay, Maguindanao because he decided, quite accurately at the last minute, that danger awaited the group that sought to file the certificate of candidacy of a candidate for governor of Maguindanao, is my editor at the General Santos City newspaper “Mindanao Bulletin”.

Based on what happened to Joseph, I say it would be wise for any journalist (or for anyone for that matter) to heed one’s instincts once in a while, especially when it concerns personal safety and well-being.

I was told that Joseph decided to forego his plan to ride with the group, led by the wife of Buluan Vice Mayor Esmael Mangudadatu who was running against Datu Unsay Mayor Zaldy Ampatuan Jr. for the governorship of the province, after he was told that some suspicious-looking men were checking the names of the journalists who were to cover the filing of Mangudadatu’s certificate at the hotel where they were billeted.

Joseph felt he was one of those being sought by the men, because, he thought, he had earlier written critical and biting articles against officials of Maguindanao and of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).

The reporters of the Philippine Daily Inquirer and Bandera from General Santos City got similarly lucky when, learning that Joseph transferred to his own car, they decided to join him, even when he no longer proceeded to join the filers.

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THE BLOOD OF THE MAGUINDANAO MASSACRE VICTIMS IN THE HANDS OF AUTHORITIES: Presidential Assistant Jesus Dureza, a prominent politician-businessman from Mindanao, should know what he is talking about when he proposed, one, the immediate disarming of all armed groups in Mindanao, and two, the imposition of a state of emergency in Maguindanao Province.

Indeed, lasting peace and order and real prosperity will never be attained in the south unless the warlords masquerading as politicians and businessmen are divested of their firearms, and made to answer for their crimes.

The bothersome question now is this: why, indeed, have we allowed the bearing of arms by various groups in Mindanao up to now, when, even the 1987 Constitution forbids the use of arms by anyone except by the police, the armed forces and other law enforcement agencies?

It would seem therefore that the blood of all those who were kidnapped and killed Monday in Maguindanao (and those who would still be similarly victimized, God forbid) are in the hands of the Philippine National Police, the Armed Forces of the Philippines, and of the entire government itself, principally because of their collective inaction on the firearms issue all these years.

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ASSUMPTION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY: The fourth “Glorious Mystery” in the Holy Rosary of the Roman Catholic Christians is the assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which deals with the taking up into heaven of Mary, body and soul.

Even among Christians though, this is a controversial issue, with many of the so-called believers outside of the Catholic faith insisting that the assumption of Mary into heaven did not happen.

But the teachings of Roman Catholic Christians point to the occurrence of the event, and Catholic popes and leaders from the 3rd century on actually cite many portions of the Bible to justify this belief.

In Wikipedia, an item on the assumption of Mary contains this explanation: “All these passages – John 14:3, Isaiah 60:13, Luke 1:28, Song of Songs 8:5, 1 Corinthians 15:21-26, Psalms 132:8, Psalms 45:9-17, Song of Songs 3:6, 4:8, 6:9, Genesis 3:15, and Revelation 12:1-2 – are drawn upon as Scriptural support of the Assumption both in that original document, and today by Catholic apologists.”

The prevailing thought is that these Biblical references show that Jesus would not have allowed His own mother to have died and her flesh to have degenerated to dust.

Also, considering Mary’s role in giving birth to the “seed” (Jesus) that will crush Satan, it is believed that the fate of Jesus in ascending to heaven body and soul is the same fate that happened to Mary.

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