Larry Johnson: Huge outcry over political massacre of 57 in Philippines

From former P-I Foreign Editor Larry Johnson's blog, Looking for Trouble:

Yesterday in the Philippines, Ismael Mangudadatu registered to run for governor of Maguindanao province on the southern island of Mindanao. It doesn’t sound like an unusual event unless you know that on Monday 57 men and women on their way to register Mangudadatu were massacred, execution style.

The group included Mangudadatu’s wife, Genalyn, and other relatives, and 22 Filipino journalists.

Mangudadatu and his supporters had thought it would be safe to send his female relatives to register his candidacy even though he knew that people in the province, primarily the powerful Ampatuan family, were out to prevent him from running. Maguindanao, after all, is predominantly a Muslim province, and women are traditionally safe even from the bitterest enemies. Besides, there were many journalists in the group to help keep them safe.

The attack, according to the TimesOnline of London, “has raised questions about the relationship between the gangster clans such as the Ampatuan family and the highest levels of the Philippines metropolitan elite." More