The murder of 57 people by political rivals in 2009 outraged the country, even though political violence has been common ROLEX DELA PENA/EPAThe killers behind the Philippines’ worst peacetime massacre were sentenced to life in prison today, after a decade-long trial that exposed the country’s culture of brutal political violence and impunity. The court in Manila convicted 43 people for the shooting of 57 people on the southern island of Mindanao in 2009. Thirty-two reporters and media workers were among those murdered in the Maguindanao massacre, the world’s biggest ever killing of journalists. Prominent among those convicted were three brothers, Andal Ampatuan Jr, Zaldy Ampatuan and Sajid Ampatuan, who were sentenced to life in prison without parole for murdering a convoy of relatives, lawyers and supporters of a rival politician. Five other members of their extended family were convicted.

Source: The Times December 19, 2019 08:48 UTC