Maguindanao Massacre in the Philippines

a family member responds.

Cristina Montiel, a member of the unprogrammed Friends meeting in Manila, spoke at the Gabriela Women's Group in memory of her cousin, Coney Jayme-Brizuela who was one of the lawyers killed in the Maguindanao massacre..

Thank you to Gabriela, and the network of human rights groups for this recognition. On behalf of my cousin Coney Jayme-Brizuela, her children Sunshine, Michael, and Cielo, Coney's mother Irene Gepolio-Jayme, Coney's younger brothers and sisters Vicky, Tata, Nonoy, Rosario, Concordia, Eva, and Toto, and the rest of the Jayme family..

Coney's gruesome murder leaves a huge painful wound behind, not only among our family members, but also among the farmers, women, and Lumads in North Cotabato whom she loved dearly and lawyered against human and land rights transgressions, receiving as her lawyer's fees mostly native chickens and a few eggs. Upon her death, her family discovered that she was currently lawyering around a thousand other pending cases!.

On this day, we pay tribute to Coney's woman-strengths in her struggle for social justice. Like other strongly loving women, Connie was a passionate protector of the vulnerable - how generously she defended the poor and marginalized! Like other strongly loving women, she endured and persevered in her everyday sacrifices, quietly, and without fanfare. To her, it was the giving that mattered, rather than the applause. And lastly, like other strongly loving women, in the end, she sacrificed her own body, so that others may live..

As we remember Coney's life and her gruesome death, let us light the candle for Justice for the victims of the Ampatuan massacre. And pray that with their sacrifice on the altar of blood-drenched landfills, our country will one day enjoy the fruits of a fear-free Maguindanao, the scrapping of CVO's and other instruments of militarization, and a truly viable electoral system where opposition candidates can register, campaign and win during elections. Maraming salamat po..

Tina Jayme Montiel
Friday, 11 December 2009.