THE BALLAD OF MAGUINDANAO
by Pax Florius
by Pax Florius
The twenty-third day of November
A sad day we’ll always remember
When the price of truth was justice’s dearth
In the form of bullets, blood, and earth
A sad day we’ll always remember
When the price of truth was justice’s dearth
In the form of bullets, blood, and earth
On the southern island of Mindanao
In the Muslim province of Maguindanao
What began as a political rivalry
Ended up as a macabre tragedy
In the Muslim province of Maguindanao
What began as a political rivalry
Ended up as a macabre tragedy
In a contest of political power
One clan was challenged by another
Mangudadatu will have his CoC filed
‘Twas a move that Ampatuan so reviled
One clan was challenged by another
Mangudadatu will have his CoC filed
‘Twas a move that Ampatuan so reviled
Despite perceived threats due to this move
A request for protection was not approved
Mangudadatu knew that he would be dead
So his wife and female relatives went instead
A request for protection was not approved
Mangudadatu knew that he would be dead
So his wife and female relatives went instead
With his wife, cousin, aunt and three sisters
Were thirty-four journalists and two lawyers
A crowd of fifty-eight were on their way
Will never get to see again the light of day
Were thirty-four journalists and two lawyers
A crowd of fifty-eight were on their way
Will never get to see again the light of day
As they went to Shariff Aguak, from Butuan
A hundred men stopped them in Ampatuan
Even passers-by were never spared
From the trap in which they’ve been ensnared
A hundred men stopped them in Ampatuan
Even passers-by were never spared
From the trap in which they’ve been ensnared
They were beaten up and mutilated
Some maybe raped, others decapitated
Shot in the genitals, tied and bound
And buried altogether in the ground
Some maybe raped, others decapitated
Shot in the genitals, tied and bound
And buried altogether in the ground
What grief, what frustatation we feel now
For the carnage that ensued in Maguindanao
There is no way men could have done this
Those who did this bloody act are savages
For the carnage that ensued in Maguindanao
There is no way men could have done this
Those who did this bloody act are savages
The twenty-third day of November
A sad day we’ll always remember
When the price of truth was justice’s dearth
In the form of bullets, blood, and earth
A sad day we’ll always remember
When the price of truth was justice’s dearth
In the form of bullets, blood, and earth
– para sa unang anibersaryo ng Maguindanao Masaker
(Special acknowledgement to “Tolentine Star – The Official Student Publication of UNO-R” for publishing this in their Summer 2010 issue)
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