A Verdict On Justice In A Land Of Impunity: The Coming Decision On The 2009 Maguindanao Massacre Will Serve As A Ruling On The Philippines’ Judicial System Itself.

A vigil for victims held the day after the Maguindanao massacre, November 2009 (Photo: Jeoffrey Maitem/Getty Images)

I still remember the last time I saw Marlene Esperat. How could I not? She was wearing a red dress and matching high-heeled shoes. Her eyes sparkled with glittery makeup.

Marlene was a journalist in the province of Sultan Kudarat, on the southern Philippine island of Mindanao, where she exposed the rigged bids and ghost projects that lined the pockets of local officials. She faced death threats because of her exposés and was at that time under police protection.

“I want to look pretty when the assassins come to get me,” she said.

Not long afterward, on a Thursday evening the week of Easter in March 2005, a gunman walked into Marlene’s home while she was dining with her children. “Good evening, madam,” he said, and then shot her in front of her daughter and two sons.

Marlene comes to mind because this is a time for remembering. This month marks the tenth anniversary of what the Committee to Protect Journalists called the single deadliest attack on the press in recent memory.

NYSEAN member Sheila Coronel writes for the Interpreter.

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