Costly pursuit of the truth

In memoriam: Journalists lighting candles in memory of their fallen colleagues during the 13th anniversary of the 2009 massacre. — AFP

When news broke that 58 individuals had been massacred in the town of Ampatuan, Maguin-danao province in 2009, then 29-year-old Rowella Dayawan got worried calls from her relatives, asking where she was.

Two of the bodies found on a hilltop on Nov 23 that year were those of women said to be pregnant so the relatives of Dayawan, who was also pregnant with her youngest child, thought one of the victims was her.