Here's a
copy of the message of Honorable Governor Esmael "Toto" G.
Mangudadatu in verbatim. It's an honor to have this copy for as I believed that
CCNTV Productions and I (my blogsite,
www.laruylaruysinta.blogspot.com) has the only copy of this. My gratitude
to his staff, he doesn't want his name to be mentioned. God bless Maguindanao...
Assalamualaikum...
Honorable Secretary of justice, Leila de Lima
Honorable DILG Secretary, Jesse Robredo
Guests, members of the media, relatives, friends
Mga kapwa ko nagmamahal na nawalan ng minamahal, isang mapayapang araw sa
ating lahat.
Ngayong araw na ito, dalawang taon nang nakalipas, limampu't walong
pamilya ang nawalan ng asawa, ina, ama, anak o kapatid. On my part, madalas
sabihin nawalan ako ng asawa, kapatid at tita. Ang hindi alam ng karamihan
nawalan kami ng, hindi lang tatlo, kundi dalawampung kamag-anak... dalawampung
mahal sa buhay.
Minsan, hindi talaga natin maiwasan magbilang.
Like today, we have been waging our fight for justice for two years.
That's 730 days... 17,520 hours. Ganun katagal na tayong lumalaban.
At ganun katagal na natin sinasanay ang sarili natin
na wala na
sila.
Pero hindi pa rin ako masanay. Hindi lubusan matanggap ng isip, puso at
diwa ko na wala na talaga sila.
I'm sure
this has happened to you. Naglalakad ako sa mall tapos may makikita akong damit
at bigla papasok sa isip ko, "Uy, bagay yun kay Gigi." 0 di kaya makakain ako ng paksiw o tinola at sasabihin ko sa sarili ko na
mas masarap pa ang luto ni Gigi na paksiw o tinola. Specialty niya yun.
Tapos matitigilan ako. Ilang saglit bago ko maaalala na wala na pala siya.
Na sumakabilang buhay na siya.
And the pain comes back with the same intensity as if the massacre
happened just yesterday. There are times the pain is worse, there are also
times the pain is less. But there is never a day or an hour when there is no
pain at all.
Little things, familiar places will trigger memories and set off the pain
all over again.
Gaya rito… This place will always
remind us of the nightmare of November 23, 2009. At mahirap tanggapin ay
kailanman hindi tayo magigising mula sa bangungot na yun.
I tell myself: move on, let go.
But when I go to court to attend the hearings,
observe the proceedings and hear the arguments of the prosecutors and defense
lawyers, I realize that I cannot let go. Maybe I can move on, but I cannot and will
not let go.
Hindi ko na maibabalik ang umaga ng November 23,
2009 at pigilan ang convoy.
Hindi ko na mababalikan ang panahong sinayang ko na
dapat naglagi ako sa tabi ni Gigi. Na sana ay mas mahaba pa kaming
nagkuwentuhan. Na sana mas mahigpit ko siyang hinagkan. Sana mas matagal kong
hinawakan ang kamay niya.
Lahat yun, hindi ko na magagawa. Pero may kaya pa
akong gawin. May kaya pa tayong gawin.
We can still fight. We can continue to be vigilant
and participate actively in the legal battle we have started.
At hindi tayo nag-iisa.
Secretary de Lima has been steadfast in her
commitment to bring the perpetrators to justice. At the time when many were
worried that some sort of deal was alledgedly being cooked up with one of the
principal accused, she firmly and candidly said there will be no deal, there
will be no compromise where massacre case is concerened.
Then there is DOJ USec Francisco Barran. He, too,
has been diligent in keeping tabs on the criminal proceedings. At times, he
even attends court hearings.
At huwag natin kalimutan ang mga procecutor, both
the public and private prosecutors who have been tireless in their prosecution
work in and off the court. Madalas nag-uuwi sila ng trabaho. Malaking bagay sa
mga procecutor na makitang matatag tayo sa laban.
 |
| Governor Esmael "Toto" G. Mangudadatu deliver his message. |
Last, but certainly not the least, is the President.
PNoy has already said he will make sure justice is served. While many say he
should articulate his policies clearer, there is no denying the support the
office of the President has given and continues to give to the efforts to
attain justice.
Ang pangulo, ang DOJ, ang mga
prosecutor, lahat sila, kakampi natin. To them, we extend our heartfelt
gratitude.
We hope the same commitment and
efforts will be given to other cases of extralegal killings.
We also hope there will be renewed
genuine efforts on the part of our law-enforcement agencies, particularly the
Philippine National Police, to tract down and arrest the other accused in the
massacre case who are still at large.
Alam natin hindi mangyayari yung gusto nating hustisya bukas o sa
makalawa na. Mahaba-haba pa ang landas na tatahakin natin para makamit ang
katarungan at managot ang mga may sala.
Umaasa
po ako na sama-sama nating tatapusin ang laban na nasimulan na.
I know it is easier said than done. But I also know
that with the grace of Allah, of God, of the Divine, nothing is impossible.
The legal battle is very important for many reasons:
First, our loved ones do not deserve to die. They do not deserve the
violent and brutal deaths they suffered.
Second, as often pointed out by media advocates, the
massacre is an affront to press freedom with 32 media workers killed.
Third, this case is said to be the measuring stick
of the efficiency and sufficiency of our criminal justice system. Dito
masusukat ang takbo ng hustisya sa ating bansa. That’s why it is no surprise
that November 23 has been declared the International Day to End Impunity.
The fourth reason is often overlooked by many. Ang
massacre ay isang sampal sa ating demokrasya dahil ang layunin ng pagpatay sa
mga kasama sa convoy, pati na rin sa mga motoristang napagkamalang bahagi ng
convoy, ay upang pigilin ang pag-file ng aking Certificate of Candidacy.
The act of filing a COC is a
concrete manifestation of our democracy, which gives us a chance to elect our
political leaders. And we all know that free elections is one of the pillars of
our democracy. Kaya ang massacre ay isa ring pag-aalipusta sa ating demokrasya. Sana po manatili tayong matibay ang loob sa laban para sa hustisya. Para
sa Iimampu't walong taong pinatay. Para sa kalayaan ng pamamahayag. At para sa
ating demokrasya.
Salamat, at muli, isang
mapayapang araw sa ating lahat.
