Star witness to Philippines masscre shot dead
A new president will take the reigns in the Philippines this week, with Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino to be sworn in on Wednesday. The changeover marks the end of the near decade-long rule of outgoing President Gloria Arroyo, an administration blighted by a legacy of human rights abuses and rampant corruption. Hundreds of activists, journalists and witnesses have been killed or forcibly disappeared since Gloria Arroyo assumed office in 2001. The latest among them was a star witness to November’s Maguindanao massacre, in which 57 people were killed, 32 of them media workers. The witness, known as Jesse, was the greatest hope for the prosecution of those who carried out the massacre – a powerful political family allied with President Arroyo called the Ampatuans.