As the country commemorates the first anniversary of the Maguindanao Massacre, the president said that the resolution of the massacre serves as a "litmus test" of the country's justice system.

"It is one of the top priorities of the Justice Department. We will not rest until justice has been served," Aquino said.

Aquino has offered his condolences to the families of the victims and assured them that he will "do everything in our power to achieve a timely resolution of this case and ensure that this does not happen again."

On Nov. 23, 2009, 58 people, including 32 journalists, were murdered by armed men who were allegedly working for the powerful Ampatuan clan. The Ampatuans, who have governed the southern Philippine province of Maguindanao since 2001, allegedly ordered the murders of 58 people to stop a member of a rival Muslim clan from running for the provincial governorship.

The Ampatuans allegedly ordered the killing of relatives and supporters of the rival, Esmael Mangudadatu, who were to have filed his election nomination papers. Local journalists who were traveling in the convoy were also murdered.

A year after the massacre, the case is yet to be resolved. Former Maguindanao Governor Andal Ampatuan Sr., his sons - former Datu Unsay Mayor Andal Anmpatuan, Jr. and Zaldy Ampatuan, the suspended governor of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, have been incarcerated. Andal Jr. is being tried and charged with several counts of murder.