NPC commemorates Maguindanao Massacre 10th anniversary

A mass and a candle lighting ceremony were held at the National Press Club grounds in Manila on Saturday to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the Maguindanao massacre.

LOOK: National Press Club, nag alay ng misa para sa ika-10 anibersaryo ng Maguindanao Massacre sa Maynila @dzbb pic.twitter.com/109dVh5lo3

— Luisito Santos (@luisitosantos03) November 23, 2019

The service was attended by members of the press body, followed by a candle lighting at the Maguindanao Massacre marker inside the NPC compound in Intramuros.

LOOK: Mga opisyal at miyembro ng National Press Club, nag alay ng kandila sa Maguindanal Massacre marker sa loob ng NPC Compound sa Intramuros, Maynila @dzbb pic.twitter.com/qFstpXFfko

— Luisito Santos (@luisitosantos03) November 23, 2019

The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) and other groups also observed the 10th anniversary of the gruesome multiple murder of 58 people on November 23, 2009.

Of the 58, 32 were members of the media who were killed on their way to the filing of then gubernatorial candidate Esmael "Toto" Mangudadatu's certificate of candidacy when armed men blocked their path.

The members of the Mangudadatu convoy were reportedly forced up into the hills of Sitio Masalay, were shot using high-powered firearms, and buried in shallow graves using a backhoe.

Andal Ampatuan Sr., patriarch of the powerful political family, and his sons Unsay, Sajid, and Zaldy and 193 others were charged with 58 counts of murder. Fifteen defendants were surnamed Ampatuan, according to court records.

The Supreme Court has given Judge Jocelyn Solis-Reyes until December 20 to promulgate the judgment on the multiple murder case. — Jamil Santos/DVM, GMA News