UN Secretary-General Ban Kimoon Wednesday condemned the mass killing of more than 50 people in Maguindanao in relation to the 2010 elections. The secretarygeneral also sent his condolences to the families of the victims.

Ban’s spokesperson Michele Montas said the secretary-general was "saddened by the brutal killing" and condemned the "heinous crime committed in the context of the local election campaign." Ban also hopes that justice will be served and that the perpetrators will be held accountable.

The military said six more victims have been recovered Wednesday, bringing the death toll to 52, with 42 already identified, including 17 journalists.

A document released by AFP spokesman Lt. Col. Romeo Brawner, Jr. identified some of the victims as Vice Mayor Bai Eden Mangudadatu, Genalyn Mangudadatu, lawyers Connie Brizuela and Cynthia Oquendo, Razul Daud, Bai Farihna Mangudadatu, Farihda Sabdulah, Rowena Mangudadatu, Manguba Mangudadatu, Farihda Mangudadatu, Mr. Oquendo, Wahida Ali kaliman, Zoraida Abdul, a certain alias “Unto”, Pinky Balayman, Ella Balayman, Rahima Piopo, Meriam Calicol, and Zoraida Vernand.

The 17 slain journalists whose bodies have been recovered were Bong Reblando of Manila Bulletin, Henry Araneta of DZRH-Central Mindanao, Bart Maravillas of Bombo Radio, Gina dela Cruz, Mark Ariola, Victor Nunez of UNTV, Lea Dalmacio, Ronnie Perante, Marites Cablitas, Rubil Batolana, Joy Dohay, Jimmy Cabello, Ian Tuban, Marites Cabutas, Andy Teodoro, Mac-Mac Areola, and Nening Montano.

Also recovered were the bodies of Sidik Ebos, Apdila Ayada, Rasul Daud, Eugene Dohilyo, Patrick Pamansan, and a certain alias “Chito”—drivers of the vehicles that the victims were riding when abducted.

Due to the incident, the International Federation of Journalists named the country as the most dangerous place for media workers. President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has earlier placed Maguindanao, Sultan Kudarat, and Cotabato City under the state of emergency. Wednesday, she declared a Day of Mourning for the victims of the massacre.

The national day of bereavement will be held Thursday, according to Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita.

The President also vowed anew to put to jail the perpetrators and to fight forces that eat away at the integrity of the country’s elections.

“I am declaring a national day of mourning in honor of the victims. This crime is too outrageous not to prick the conscience of this nation, or any other nation for that matter. Let us hope that the outrage is overcome by reason and by our need to live our lives in peace, honor, and human dignity,” she said in a nationwide address aired over government stations.

“The perpetrators will not escape justice and the law would haunt them until they are caught. No citizen of our nation should ever have to fear for his or her life in the free expression of political will. That these victims were brutally struck down while merely exercising their right to political freedom
must be condemned by people everywhere,” she added.

The President extended her sympathies to the families of the victims, adding she grieves the loss of innocent lives.

The government is expected to provide P100,000 in financial aid to families of each victim of the Maguindanao murders, according to the President's deputy spokesperson Lorelei Fajardo.

“That loss, unbearable as it is, should now move us to fight those forces that thrive in violence and erode the integrity of elections in our country,” the Chief Executive said.

“Like many others, I am appalled and outraged by it, and I join the rising chorus of indignation against it,” she added.

The gruesome killings in Maguindanao were also “not a simple election feud between opposing clans” but an “act of supreme act of inhumanity that is a blight on our nation,” according to the President.

The President likewise made an urgent appeal for calm and restraint given the volatility of the political situation in Maguindanao. Interior and Local Government Secretary Ronaldo Puno and acting Justice Secretary Agnes Devanadera have been directed to lead the immediate resolution of the killings.

In her visit to Porac, Pampanga, she said the Maguindanao murders were a "travesty" to the government's pledge to uphold human rights. "The commitment to human rights and dignity shall prevail in the Philippines,” she said.

In a statement posted on its website, the International Federation of Journalists said they now fear for their staff in the Philippines’ danger zone following the brutal and in-humane election related massacre of its fellow workers who were only there to portray their watchdog role.

“Under the current government the Philippines has become the most dangerous place in the world for media workers,’’ the IFJ said.

“At least 74 journalists have been killed during its eight-year tenure, yet the Government has not acted to end the culture of impunity. At last count, only four convictions had been secured,’’ it added.

The international media organization said the Arroyo government should go beyond rhetoric of just declaring a state of emergency in Maguindanao and instead “make a clear and unequivocal commitment to an immediate, independent and effective inquiry to this atrocity.’’

The IFJ said it has made available its International Safety Fund to provide humanitarian support, including efforts by the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) to probe the circumstances around the killing.

The Paris-based Reporters Without Borders, on the other hand, said the brutal death of local journalists in Maguindanao only highlights the unsolved cases of political harassments and killings of journalists in the Philippines.

(With reports from Shianee Mamanglu and Ellalyn B. De Vera)