Ampatuan massacre victims, the relatives of the 57 people massacred in 2009 in Maguindanao, are suing former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo on the eve of the 2nd anniversary of the Maguindanao Massacre. They claim that the killings could have been prevented by GMA, their lawyer said.

The Maguindanao Massacre, dubbed as the country’s worst politically motivated bloodbath and the worst single killing of journalists in the world (32 media workers dead), is now on its 2nd year tomorrow, November 23, and justice is still elusive to the victims’ relatives.

Two Arroyo allies, including former Maguindanao governor Andal Ampatuan Sr., are among about 100 suspects being tried on murder charges, and now they are about to file charges to the former President who has been arrested last week for electoral fraud.

Although Arroyo has condemned and denied any knowledge of the killings, lawyer Harry Roque believed she should have known that Ampatuan and his son were a danger.

“She not only funded and armed the Ampatuans but gave them the sense of influence. She could have prevented it. She knew about possible dangers,” he said.

The lawsuit is set to be filed today, November 22, seeking 15 million pesos in damages.