I found this story on Canadian Press – its very sad as many people died from this massacre and still very sad to hear that we still are fighting when we all should try to get along no matter what your beliefs are! *Sigh*…. many guns were found, more like an arsenal of guns/ammunitions…
Witness testifies clan chief, son planned Philippine massacre, hired militiamen for killings
By Teresa Cerojano (CP) – 2 days ago
MANILA, Philippines — A powerful clan chief and his son plotted a massacre in the southern Philippines that killed 57 rivals and journalists, ordering local officials to hire gunmen and recruiting militiamen for the slayings, a court heard Wednesday.
Muhammad Sangki, a local town councillor, testified that the son of the Ampatuan clan’s patriarch led dozens of men in blocking the victims’ convoy as they travelled to register the gubernatorial candidacy of a clan rival then tried to identify each of them before they were shot Nov. 23.
The massacre was the worst election-related violence in Philippines history. It came in the run-up to national polls due in May, highlighting the violent sway of warlords in the Southeast Asian nation’s volatile democracy. More than 30 journalists and their staff were among those killed, the deadliest single attack on media workers in the world.
It drew international condemnation and prompted President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to declare martial law for a week in southern Maguindanao province and crack down on the powerful Ampatuan clan – once her key political ally – and its private army.
Sangki told the heavily guarded court at the national police headquarters that the main suspect, town mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr., planned the massacre at a Nov. 20 meeting with the province’s deputy police chief and around 40 to 50 men armed with rifles.
Sangki said Ampatuan Jr. paid and armed several police auxiliary force members to help carry out the killings of members of the rival Mangudadatu clan, while Ampatuan’s father, a former Maguindanao governor, ordered several mayors to hire gunmen who would later block the convoy of the massacre victims… Read more….
Here’s a great story found at Channel New Asia – it quite interesting that the fashion is showing off our love for the Philippines! I think its quite outstanding that the people are finally waking up and trying to do something about it!! This is such a great story…and do pass it on…
Nationalistic fashion gains popularity in Philippines By Channel NewsAsia’s Philippine Correspondent Christine Ong | Posted: 30 January 2010 0024 hrs
From t-shirts, to bags, to pillows, and even wall clocks, Filipinos just cannot seem to get enough of nationalistic yet fashionable items.
“We are an all-Filipino brand,” said Rhett Eala, creative director of Collezione C2. “Hundred per cent of our products are made in the Philippines. So we wanted a symbol representing Filipinos. So we decided on the (Philippines) map, put it on the shirt. We decided on a gold map first and then it just snowballed from there to an entire collection.”
Also flying off the shelves are trendy shirts bearing the face of the country’s national hero, Jose Rizal.
Mon Punzalan, founder of Team Manila, said: “We made a design where Jose Rizal is wearing aviator shades because he represents the modern Filipino. The sunglass-wearing Rizal is an icon now.”
The huge popularity of these iconic apparels are also attributed to the millions of Filipinos working and living abroad.
Joey Qua, chief executive officer of Collezione C2, said: “When Filipinos are living abroad for many, many years because of their work, they want to have something that will remind them of where they came from and their roots, and they want to represent our country well, in wherever location they are around the world, and they want to let people know that they are Filipinos.”
Designers refer to this growing pop culture trend as fashionalism. By combining fashion, art, and nationalism, designers hope that they would be able to inspire a young generation of Filipinos to do their share for the country.
With the 2010 elections just around the corner, Filipino designers said that it is crucial to inspire nationalism and pride in every Filipino.
“If you see some of the t-shirts in our store right now, we have designs like ‘Protect the Ballot Boxes’, ‘We Need More Heroes’, something related to the upcoming elections,” said Punzalan. “We are very concerned about what will happen next year about the elections.”
By incorporating current nationalistic issues into fashion statements, Filipino designers are ensuring that fashionalism will be more than just a fad.
Okay, I found more links about the Philippines, in my many searches, and thought I would share this with you. Its quite interesting and taken the U.S. Dept of State website. So you know that they might have some good info. Click on here – PHILIPPINES
If you’re ever having to do a report… you should check this out…it does have some great info!
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