Maguindanao Massacre: How one woman’s courage helped convict the Ampatuans

Sixteen years after the Maguindanao Massacre, one of the deadliest attacks on journalists in history, Teka Teka revisits one of the most haunting stories from Super Evil: A Beautiful Place to Die Season 2.

This special feature brings back “The Cellphone,” the powerful minisode about Atty. Cynthia Oquendo-Ayon, one of the 58 victims murdered on November 23, 2009. Amid the terror on a remote hill in Maguindanao, Cynthia managed to hold on to her phone and send desperate messages as gunfire surrounded her. Those final texts, recovered against all odds, would later help convict members of the Ampatuan clan in a trial that lasted a decade.

More than a retelling of violence, this episode is a tribute to courage, press freedom, and the relentless pursuit of truth. It reflects on how one woman’s final act, reaching out for help, became a key piece of evidence in one of the most important justice battles in Philippine history.

As we commemorate another year since the massacre, we remember the journalists, lawyers, and civilians whose lives were stolen—and the stories that demand to be told, again and again.

Listen to this Teka Teka special feature and revisit the origins of Super Evil’s landmark investigation into the Maguindanao Massacre.

This episode was produced by Bubbles Magpayo and engineered by Jem Bunao. Jaemark Tordecilla is our editor-at-large.

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