As a lawyer myself, I grieve for the heinous murder of two lady lawyers in Mindanao the other day. They were victims (46 in all) of the infamous politically-motivated Maguindanao massacre. Maguindanao is a Muslim-dominated province in the beautiful but violent Philippine island of Mindanao. Also killed were more than 12 media practitioners and many other ranking political personalities in the province belonging to the opposite camp of the incumbent Muslim provincial governor who heads the Ampatuan political clan. His clan is affiliated with the ruling (but soon to expire lameduck) political party of Pres. Gloria Arroyo.
The two lady lawyers were Atty. Concepcion “Connie” Brizuela, 56, and Atty. Cynthia Oquendo, 35. They were the election lawyers of the Mangudadatu political clan, which is the strongest political opponent of the Ampatuan clan in Maguindanao province. Known as independent-minded and courageous lady advocates of alternative lawyering and human rights, lawyers Brizuela and Oquendo were active pro bono officers of the Union of Peoples Lawyers in Mindanao (UPLM), a local voluntary bar association in that province known for its public interest advocacy.
When a republican country, like the Philippines, directly or indirectly abets the killing of lawyers and journalists, either by reason of selfish political loyalties and unconscionable greed for power of those in command of the levers of local and national power and economic wealth or by reason of the lack of political will to enforce law and order and to defend the justice system on the part of the elective and appointive leaders and bureaucrats of the government or by reason of gross stupidity and glaring ignorance of the rule of law of such inutile leaders, it will not take very long before its helpless and demoralized people see the violent death of its much-cherished democratic system. Such a situation will definitely produce a civil war in any society.
The Maguindanao massacre will go down in the international history of mass media as the worst ever killing of so many journalists on one single date and at one single place. It has been occupying the front pages and the headlines of major world dailies and television channels these past days. It is one of the worst black eyes to the current world image of Philippine democracy (destroying whatever positive points the Philippines has recently garnered by reason of Manny Pacquiao's global historical feat in the realm of boxing and Efren Penaflorida’s much-acclaimed global "CNN Hero" award).
Below is a comprehensive news feature on the killing of the above-named lady Filipino lawyers.
I am also reproducing below a news item about the strong condemnation of the Maguindanao massacre in separate statements issued by the United Nations and the European Union.
Indeed, the whole world should unite to condemn and repudiate the massacre to teach the useless and corrupt Filipino political leaders and military and police generals a lesson by exposing them to global humiliation.
Humiliation is the best and the only teaching method that thieves and pirates disguised as elected politicians in expensive coats and ties and generals in shining military uniforms seem to seriously recognize.
Two spunky women lawyers among the dead
By Leila Salaverria, Jeffrey M. Tupas
Inquirer Mindanao
First Posted 04:14:00 11/25/2009
MANILA, Philippines—One was a passionate grandmother who refused to abandon her advocacy despite death threats. The other was a young, artistic mother who quietly fought for her beliefs.
The two female lawyers, who were reportedly slain in the massacre in Maguindanao on Monday, were among those who had kept hopes for peace and respect for human rights alive in Mindanao.
Concepcion “Connie” Brizuela, 56, and Cynthia Oquendo, 35, were with members of the Mangudadatu clan and at least a dozen media practitioners who were waylaid and murdered in Maguindanao by a group of armed men now being linked to the Mangudadatus’ political rivals.
Brizuela was a classmate of Buluan Vice Mayor Esmael “Toto” Mangudadatu, who had asked his wife, two sisters, Brizuela and Oquendo to file his certificate of candidacy for governor of Maguindanao in Shariff Aguak town.
Brizuela, the treasurer of the Union of Peoples Lawyers in Mindanao (UPLM), is known to her friends as a brave woman, such that her fellow lawyer Beverly Musni refused to believe that Brizuela was gone unless her own family relayed the news.
“She will fight. She will live. She’s not someone who would give up easily,” Musni told the Inquirer. “Her laughter is full of life. I refuse to believe she’s gone.”
Musni said that without official word from Brizuela’s family, she would consider her friend abducted.
Wellspring of strength
Brizuela has three grown children and doted on her grandchildren. To her friends and colleagues, she was a “wellspring of strength,” Musni added.
Brizuela’s small frame concealed the big heart she had for the oppressed, someone whose voice emanated from the pain and struggle of the victims of human rights violations, according to her friends.
Over the years, Brizuela was no stranger to death threats.
Brizuela had the gentleness of an “Ilongga” who was also firm and determined.
She was not known for being reckless as she would tell fellow human rights lawyers to be reminded of the dangers and threats that come with the territory.
Undeterred by the powerful
“In her diminutive frame loomed large a feisty people’s lawyer and human rights defender undeterred by the rich and the powerful in Mindanao,” said Bishop Felixberto Calang, convenor of the Initiatives for Peace Mindanao (InPeace), the group that Brizuela helped convene.
Calang said Brizuela had been at the forefront of the campaign against the climate of impunity.
“We are outraged that it has caught up with her through this tragic and gruesome death. We will miss her,” Calang said.
Lawyer Carlos Isagani Zarate said Brizuela’s death was revolting. “She’s a great loss not only to us but also to the people whose rights she fought for. We lost an elder sister. She will be sorely missed,” said Zarate, UPLM secretary general.
Zarate said Brizuela could not allow injustice to happen to anyone, without her doing something about it. “She always stood for the people. She was a people’s lawyer,” the
UPLM chief said.
Brizuela, one of the founding members of UPLM, the precursor of the National Union of People’s Lawyers (NUPL), was also one of those who convened the group Lawyers for Peace.
Libel suit from Piñol
A former broadcaster who did not flinch in criticizing wrongdoers, Brizuela had been one of the leaders of a group fighting for good governance in Cotabato.
In 2005, Brizuela and three others were jailed following a P5-million libel suit filed against them by former North Cotabato Gov. Emmanuel Piñol.
Brizuela, a Kidapawan native, came from a landed family but embraced human rights and public-interest cases when she entered the law profession, according to Zarate.
She also handled cases against military officials, the police and civilian armed groups.
“This was when she impressed us. She chose to do public-interest lawyering among women,” Zarate said.
While undeterred by threats, Brizuela also knew how to protect herself.
When the menacing messages started coming in, she relocated to Bacolod, although she crossed to Mindanao to attend to her cases, Zarate said.
Dutch fact-finding mission
Bayan Muna party-list Rep. Neri Colmenares, who worked with Brizuela in the NUPL, remembers his colleague as a passionate woman who actively participated in the fact-finding mission of the Dutch Lawyers for Lawyers group that probed the threats and harassment against lawyers and judges.
“I received a message that more people will be killed and one of them would be me … I received several death threats,” Brizuela told the mission then.
The group had produced a video report of its probe, and in it, Brizuela recalled her experiences and warned of the danger of attacking lawyers and justices.
“If they can kill lawyers, practically anybody. If they can kill judges, where cases are pending, then they can do that to ordinary people,” Brizuela said.
Oquendo at MSU
Oquendo was also a member of the UPLM.
Her friend, Violy Gloria, an Iligan-based journalist, recalled that Oquendo was involved in activism and health-related causes when they were at Mindanao State University (MSU). Oquendo had taken up nursing there.
But Oquendo’s brush with the militant life did not sit well with her mother, and she was later transferred to Cebu where she took up political science and became a lawyer, Gloria said.
As a lawyer, Oquendo went for “alternative lawyering” and was active in social justice movements. Gloria said that though she and Oquendo had not been meeting regularly, they had kept in touch through social networking sites. She learned that Oquendo had gotten married and had children.
Playing piano
In school, Oquendo was active in church and expressed herself through playing the piano, according to Gloria.
Oquendo did not keep an active social life back then and devoted her time to studying, activism and church, she added.
Oquendo was a quiet girl, but she was not weak. She stood fast for what she believed in, according to Gloria.
“As I know her, if she will be in a conflict situation, she would not be on the frontline. But her strength is that she will stand for what she believes is right,” Gloria said.
Friendster profile
Oquendo’s Friendster profile listed some of her hobbies—defending, cross-examining lying witnesses, ukay-ukay (used clothes), art classes and driving alone.
She was also interested in mental telepathy and the unknown. Her profile picture was that of three young boys, presumably her sons.
Her Friendster page has also been filled with messages of love, gratitude and lament.
See:
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view/20091125-238188/Two-spunky-women-lawyers-among-the-dead
UN chief, envoys condemn ‘brutal’ Maguindanao massacre
By Veronica Uy
INQUIRER.net
First Posted 07:49:00
11/25/2009
MANILA, Philippines—(UPDATE 3) United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon led an international outcry against the “brutal” violence in southern Philippines, where more than 40 civilians were killed in relation to the upcoming local elections.
Ban condemned “this heinous crime” and called for the perpetrators to be brought to justice in a statement issued by his spokesperson and released by the UN Manila office.
The European Commission, the European Union’s executive arm, also condemned the killings in Maguindanao.
“I condemn in the strongest possible terms the barbaric killing on 23 November 2009 of innocent civilians, including women, journalists, and lawyers, who were preparing to participate in the electoral process in the Philippines,” said European Commissioner for External Relations Benita Ferrero-Waldner.
“I call for calm in the period leading up to the forthcoming elections scheduled for May 2010. In the face of this atrocity, the rule of law and democracy has to prevail,” she said in a statement released by the EC Delegation to the Philippines.
British Ambassador to the Philippines Stephen Lillie gave a similar statement.
"I condemn this brutal massacre of innocent civilians, including women, journalists and lawyers. I hope that the authorities in the Philippines will take urgent action to bring the perpetrators to justice and prevent further escalation of violence in the run-up to next year's elections here," the ambassador said.
"Effective action will be crucial in maintaining confidence in the Philippines' commitment to protect human rights," Lillie said.
The United States, through its embassy here, also denounced the killings “in the strongest possible terms.”
All four extended profound condolences to the families of the victims.
“The Secretary General extends heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims and hopes that no effort will be spared to bring justice and to hold the perpetrators accountable,” the UN statement said.
The UN, the EU, and the British embassy have a number of programs on human rights in the Philippines.
EC’s Ferrero-Waldner was optimistic that justice will prevail in this case. “I note with satisfaction the declaration of the President of the Philippines, that all will be done to bring the perpetrators to justice,” she said.
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has declared a state of emergency in Maguindanao province, among other areas, following Monday’s killings, which have been described as the worst election-related violence in the nation’s history.
see:
http://globalnation.inquirer.net/news/breakingnews/view/20091125-238213/UN-chief-envoys-condemn-brutal-Maguindanao-massacre
