Maguindanao Massacre

The Maguindanao massacre, also known as the Ampatuan massacre (after the
town where the mass graves were found), occurred on the morning of November
23, 2009, in the town of Ampatuan in Maguindanao province, on the island of
Mindanao in the Philippines. The victims were about to file a certificate of
candidacy for Esmael Mangudadatu, vice mayor of Buluan town. Mangudadatu
was challenging Datu Unsay mayor Andal Ampatuan, Jr., son of the incumbent
Maguindanao governor Andal Ampatuan, Sr., in the forthcoming Maguindanao
gubernatorial election,[1] part of the national elections in 2010. The 57 people killed
included Mangudadatu's wife, his two sisters, journalists, lawyers, aides, and
motorists who were witnesses or were mistakenly identified as part of the convoy.
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has called the Maguindanao massacre
the single deadliest event for journalists in history.[2] At least 34 journalists are
known to have died in the massacre.[3] In a statement, CPJ executive director Joel
Simon noted that the killings, "appears to be single deadliest event for the press
since 1992, when CPJ began keeping detailed records on journalist deaths."[2] The
CPJ further noted that, "Even as we tally the dead in this horrific massacre, our
initial research indicates that this is the deadliest single attack on the press ever
documented by CPJ."[2]
Even before the Maguindanao massacre, the CPJ had labeled the Philippines the
second most dangerous country for journalists, second only to Iraq.[2]