Convicted by a special court sitting in Taguig City, Luzon, five members of the country’s most powerful political clan - which governed the southern province of Maguindanao for decades - were sentenced to life imprisonment for the killings. The massacre was found to have been overseen by Andal Ampatuan Jr, a former town mayor and son of the former governor, Andal Sr.

The verdict represents the culmination of a 10-year struggle for justice in a case that has become emblematic of the fight against impunity for crimes against journalists.

While the verdict has been widely welcomed, concerns remain for the safety of the families of survivors and others involved in the case, as over 80 suspects remain at large. Some members of the Ampatuan family were also acquitted.

The Ampatuan’s and their allies were accused of ambushing and killing members of the rival Mangudadatu family, who were travelling to file election candidacy papers for Esmael Mangudadatu.

Mangudadatu, who planned to run as governor of Maguindanao, said that he had received death threats from the Ampatuans. He sent his wife and their supporters to file his candidacy, in the belief that they would not be attacked. Their convoy was ambushed and shot at by 100 gunmen.

“The quest for justice does not end with the verdict of the Maguindanao Massacre case,” said a statement from the Mindanao Independent Press Council. “The media community still awaits solutions in cases involving deaths and threats among journalists. We hope that after [the sentencing], the government and its allied agencies working for the protection of press freedom and members of the press, continue to turn their attention towards these still unresolved cases.”