Peak body, the Philippine Community Council of NSW (PCC-NSW), has thrown its support behind an appeal for the Maguindanao massacre victims’ families.

PCC-NSW president Ronaldo Villaver issued a call for affiliate members to open their hearts and pockets to help ease the pain of more than 30 journalists’ families brutally killed in the massacre.

”Join us in supporting this community appeal,” Mr Villaver said in a statement. ”The victims of Maguindanao massacre and their respective families are certainly in need of our assistance. Please donate and encourage others too.”

More than 57 people died in the world’s deadliest atrocity against journalists and innocent people, including women and children.

The appeal was launched last week by the Filipino Press Group of Sydney. Funds raised by Friday, December 11, will be handed over to the National Press Club of the Philippines (NPCP).

Donations may be deposited into ANZ Bank account 181 477 819, BSB 012245 (account name Pimentel Jaime Kelly) until Friday, December 11, 2009.

Responding to the murder of more than 30 news media people in a massacre in Maguindanao southern Philippines, members of The Filipino Press Group of Sydney launched an appeal today for funds to help relieve some of the pain now experienced by victims’ families.

Funds raised will be delivered to the families through the National Press Club of the Philippines (NPCP), according to Bayanihan News editor-publisher Domingo ‘Nonoy’ Perdon.

Newspaper columnist Neria Soliman said the group would seek further contributions from affiliate organisations of the Philippine Community Council of NSW.

”At least one reporter who died in the massacre had a family of wife and five children,” said NewsPinoy editor Titus Filio, who had lived in the Maguindanao area in his youth. ”News media people do not earn much, so their families must be really suffering.”

His sentiments were echoed by Mr Perdon, who had proposed the appeal as a grave emergency measure, Ms Soliman, Philippine Sentinel editor Dino Crescini, TheFilipinoAustralian web publisher Romy Cayabyab, and Radio Sandigan producer Jaime Pimentel at a special meeting in Rooty Hill this morning, Saturday, November 28.

Donations will be accepted by the Group’s spokesman Jaime Pimentel over the next two weeks, starting Monday, November 30, 2009. Mr Pimentel will open a trust account in the Burwood branch of ANZ Banking for the sole purpose of collecting the donations. Mr Perdon, who has direct connections with officials of the NPCP, will arrange for delivery of funds.

For further details, ring (02) 9744 9966 after hours or (02)9588 8730 work hours.

Source: The Filipino Australian

The journalists were part of the convoy to cover the filing with the Commission on Elections of the gubernatorial candidacy of Buluan vice mayor Ishmael Mangadadatu.

The party was led by vice mayor Eden Mangudadatu of Mangudadatu town in Maguindanao, also killed together with her sister-in-law Genalyn, the gubernatorial candidate’s wife.

Reports about a massacre in Maguinadanao, in southern Philippines, tears at the heart of every Filipino and decent people across the globe. The victims, many of them journalists, lost their lives in a hail of gunfire as they went about their job. And because we, members of The Filipino Press Group of Sydney (Filpressyd), are journalists or journalists in intent, it tears at our hearts doubly so.

The 34 journalists, some of whom were reportedly cut down by bullets and some held captive, had been there to cover a simple event: that of filing a politician’s certificate of candidacy for governor. It should have been routine, with reporters later filing their stories for all of us to read, watch and listen to. But the brave, underpaid storytellers had marched into the jaws of hell.

On behalf of the Filpressyd, members of whom fully understand the risks journalists face each day, I call on Heaven to welcome those Filipino journos who lost their lives in Maguindanao and to watch over those who continue to suffer at the hands of their captors.

Jaime K Pimentel
Moderator
The Filipino Press Group of Sydney

In Manila, President President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo yesterday put parts of the troubled southern Philippines under emergency rule following the massacre.

Source: The Filipino Australian

Based on what we have been receiving, students of Philippine Studies have found our section on “salawikain” and other Philippine history related articles including the writings of the Philippines national hero, Dr Jose Rizal, very useful.

Judging from their feedback and comments, we are not surprised that a number of our readers and followers are young students. Here is a sample:

Yetz…. says: “..tHaNx Sa iNyong Nyc PrOvErbs..meRon na Akong aSSynMnT….hehe,,,:-)…..”

We have also serious commenting like this on the article: The Rizal Cult: On How Filipinos Created Their National Hero

Pepe Alas says:

It is true that Filipinos already “venerated” Rizal even before Taft’s declaration. However, the declaration of the Central Filipino Committee in Hong Kong hailing Rizal as the greatest patriot of the Filipino people wasn’t made known throughout the whole archipelago. Theirs was purely a Tagalog revolution (as evidenced by the first eight provinces which rebelled against Spain). The whole country didn’t approve of their rebellion. Thus when they declared Rizal as the greatest hero of the country, the rest of the Filipinos weren’t even aware of it. But the American Occupation did all possible dissemination of its declaration of Rizal as the national hero.

Rocky Sarmiento says:

Why the Spanish Government called the Philippine revolution a “Tagalog War” was understandable. One, the seat of the Spanish Government in the Philippines was located in a Tagalog-speaking region. Two, perhaps they did not realize that the revolution was already widespread. Three, even if they realized the magnitude of the “rebellion”, still it was politically expedient for the Spanish Government to call it as a “Tagalog War” in order to give the impression that the revolution was only a mutiny and a revolt and did not involve other parts of the country.

More than 100 years later and after all the history lessons taught to us, to still claim that the Philippine revolution is a “Tagalog revolution” is an insult to the intelligence and to the patriotism of the non-Tagalogs and to those in other parts of the Philippines who took part in the revolution. The first eight provinces were not all Tagalog-based. Have a look at this list: Batangas, Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna, Manila, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga and Tarlac. And then, you can also ask: Didn’t the Ilocos region participate in the revolution?

More of these at Philippine Studies

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