Murder of Musa Dimasidsing: enough is enough

Nick, the author of Tingog.com, has had enough. Appalled by the latest murder of a brave and upright man for revealing the cheating that took place in last month’s elections, he is trying to stir up some web outrage among bloggers and to ensure that 60 year old Musa Dimasidsing, the election official who was shot dead last Saturday for exposing the fraud that resulted in the unbelievable 12-0 victory of the administration in Maguindanao, does not go unforgotten.

He has written several excellent posts on this latest atrocity and provided links to newspaper accounts, which detail Musa Dimasidsing’s cowardly murder (which will, needless to say, go unpunished).

Quite a few bloggers have answered Nick’s call and you can find links to their posts here. I am so glad that Nick has pushed his little pebble down the mountain and that it is already starting to pick up some momentum.

He is battling against the biggest ally of all politically motivated killings—the resignation of the Filipino people.

An almost unlimited well of stoicism it this country’s greatest strength and its most overpowering weakness. It sees balikbayans through the most terrible experiences from Jeddah to Singapore to LA and almost all points in between and somehow gives them the strength to come out of it all laughing. It enables Filipinos at home to smile despite low wages, poor living conditions, and some of the world’s worst traffic. It is an absolutely necessary quality in the often brutal world of modern Manila.

Yet stoicism has its limits. Putting up with crap is all well and good, but there comes a point when you have to change the world instead of just putting up with it . It looks as though Nick has reached that point so let’s hope he brings some people with him.

I’ll leave you with the reaction by Jim Paredes of Apo Hiking Society to Musa Dimasidsing’s cruel murder:

I am so sickened and angry that evil men can carry out their plans to sow fear on the people of Maguindanao. I am so angry that our politicians are involved in this. Regular, ordinary people will not cheat just to cheat. Our politicians do not give a rat's ass about the democratic process, and that is the saddest truth about it.

If the death of Musa Dimasidsing is to mean something, we must express outrage and let our leaders know about it. The Garcis of Comelec should be ostracized and punished. The Comelec, if it has any decency left should get to the bottom of this and punish the perpetrators. And yet, I know that as I write this, I sound just like another angry writer to our newspapers whose sound and fury will MOST LIKELY amount to nothing.

BUT THEN AGAIN, IT MAY AMOUNT TO SOMETHING IF ALL OF US EXPRESS OUR OUTRAGE. For Musa Dimasidsing and what he stood for and paid dearly with his life, we must rage against the cheating machine and topple it because it tramples on our rights to freely choose our leaders.

Comments

[Pedestrian Observer]

Raising Awareness thru MyBlogLog Community Exchange

Fraudulent prone electoral exercise in the Philippines has resulted in violence and killed 130 plus people as a blogger and netizens of the world we can make a difference to send a clear message………. END POLITICAL VIOLENCE NOW!

Join the meme started by concerned bloggers to Raise Awareness thru MyBlogLog Community Exchange that has proven effective for bloggers in spreading the message to a wider readership and be socially relevant in a society longing for genuine change. Simple rules simple action go to Pedestrian Observer Blog and copy paste the article and include your blog name/URL and join all the MyBlogLog Communities on the list. If you want your blog included in my list please go to the comment section and write down your blog name/URL and MyBlogLog Community URL, thank you.

Cyber Istambay
A Jaywalking Cyber Pedestrian Observer

[Cogs]

Did Torn mention "the resignation of the Filipino people"?

Dimasidsing's murder draws just one comment, from another blogger, and not a word from anyone else.

My only thought in the light of this is that the Philippines gets the president, the politicians, the military and the police it deserves. No wonder it is scorned and laughed at by its neighbours.

[torn]

Hi Cogs -- Actually I wasn't expecting too many comments -- I just wanted to alert people to the campaign on Tingog. I think most people who felt strongly about this issue probably left comments there, or wrote something on their own blogs. In fact I thought the response to Nick's call was quite good -- not just in the number of bloggers who responded but in the depth of their feeling. I don't think he could have expected much more. On its own it won't stop the killing of course but at least he got people moving.

[Count to Ten]

I hope the spate of political killings will make whistleblowers wise up and realize that blowing the whistle isn't enough.

If they decide on being heroes or martyrs, could they please collect evidence first before they blow the whistle, and ensure this evidence goes public or gets the wheels of justice rolling so that their deaths may not be futile?

[Count to Ten]

For example, in the case of Musa, he could have recorded the conversation on tape. I'm aware that he wasn't carrying one when he was asked to sign the "no fraudulent activity" document by the administration candidates, but he could have said something along the lines of "I'll think about it, give me a day to decide". He could have set up a meeting again, this timed wearing wires or with some video surveillance.

When he has material evidence, then he can go public. In this country were integrity is easily bought, blowing the whistle isn't enough. Put up hard evidence or shut up I say.

[rafael]

careful, there's a huge difference between balikbayan and ofw.