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Judgment day: Guilty or not VOL. XXXIII • NO. 308 • 3 SECTIONS 16 PAGES • P18 THURSDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2019 • www.manilastandard.net • mst.daydesk@gmail.com
TODAY, Judge Jocelyn Solis-Reyes, presiding judge of Branch 221 of the Regional Trial Court of Quezon City, will promulgate the ruling on the Maguindanao Massacre case, after nearly 10 years of trial. The so-called “trial of the decade” called the attention of press organizations in the Philippines and of international media groups. The killings that occurred on Nov. 23, 2009 were described as the “deadliest strike against the press in history.” The massacre saw 58 people slain―32 of them media workers―
and underscored the dangers to journalists in the Philippines, as advocates for press freedom and justice have focused on the months and years of trial. Judge Solis-Reyes submitted the case for decision on Aug. 22, and was thus required by a Supreme Court circular to issue her verdict 90 days later, in November. But citing the “voluminous records” of the case, she requested an extension of 30 days, which the High Court has granted. The promulgation of decision is expected on or before Dec. 20, Friday.
Mangudadatu: Court in favor of victims despite slow justice By Maricel V. Cruz
M
AGUINDANAO Rep. Esmael Mangudadatu on Wednesday said he hoped the court will rule in favor of victims of the Maguindanao massacre, the worst election-related mass killings in the country, when it promulgates its decision today.
On Nov. 23, 2009, the wife of Mangudadatu, her sister, lawyer and other relatives, and 38 journalists were on their way to Shariff Aguak to watch him file his certificate of candidacy for the gubernatorial race in the 2010 local elections. Mangudadatu said the justice system has been “a bit slow” for the Maguindanao massacre victims, who have had to wait more than 10 years for a decision. “I feel that the resolution of the case took time,” Mangudadatu said. Reps. Robert Ace Barbers of Surigao del Norte and Manuel Luis Lopez of Manila expressed Mangudadatu’s hope that the court will rule in their favor.
“We are praying for justice to be served and that he will be given the strength to accept the verdict whatever that will be,” said Barbers, chairman of the House committee on dangerous drugs. Barbers said the Maguindanao massacre “is the most gruesome mass murder in our history and that the perpetrators of such morbid crimes deserve a morbid punishment, too.” “It looks like the decision would favor the family of the victims brought about by the consistent testimonies of the several witnesses, particularly the story on the involvement of Datu Unsay in the ordering of the massacre,” Barbers said. Next page
Fortun: Ampatuan walks, cites insufficient evidence By Rio N. Araja THE evidence is “insufficient” to hand down a guilty verdict for main suspect Datu Andal “Unsay” Ampatuan Jr. in the 2009 Maguindanao massacre case, his former lawyer Raymond Fortun said Wednesday. Fortun, who had worked for Ampatuan Jr. from 2016 to July 2019, told CNN Philippines some acquittals may take place when the court comes out with the much-awaited ruling on Thursday. “Not enough for a guilty verdict. For me, it’s always a matter of reasonable doubt eh. If you’re not able to connect the bullet to the gun to the gunman, in a murder case, you’re not going to win,” For-
MAIN ACTORS.
At some point on Thursday, the gavel of justice will fall and Judge Jocelyn SolisReyes (above right) will render the decision of the Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 221 on the Maguindanao Massacre, the ‘case of the decade,’ in a makeshift courtroom inside Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig City (above). It could mean long prison terms for the Ampatuan scions Andal Jr. or Datu Unsay (above) and Zaldy (in wheelchair), vindication for Rep. Esmael ‘Toto’ Mangudadatu (right)— whose wife and aunt were killed in the ambush—and landmark legal victories or defeats for lawyers Harry Roque, Raymond Fortun and Nena Santos (below from left). Lino Santos
tun told the CNN program ‘The Source’ on Wednesday. “I can see some acquittals [in the 101 accused on trial]… I don’t see everyone having evidence of guilt,” he added. Ampatuan Jr. is among the 197 accused in the gruesome mass murder of 58 victims, including 32 media workers, over a decade ago. The Ampatuans and their family’s private armed group allegedly shot and decapitated the bodies of victims, including members of the rival Mangudadatu family, and civilians who happened to be passing by. In a related development, the Ampatuan clan wants to keep their political clout in the southern Philippine province Next page
Post-quake Davao Fewer Pinoys picks up the pieces to be deployed AS MINDANAO tries to stand up from the rubble of a devastating earthquake on Sunday, authorities say the death toll in Davao del Sur has reached nine, with 111 reported injured and one missing. The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council report said Wednesday the casualties were from Region 11 (Davao Region) and 12 (SOCCSKSARGEN), suggesting the numbers were still to be verified and validated. At the same time, the Office of Civil Defense in Region 12 is closely monitoring a village in Malungon town, Sarangani province, due to the emergence of ground tension cracks following the magnitude 6.9 earthquake Sunday. OCD-12 Director Minda Morante said the tension cracks were found in a Next page
CASE TIMELINE NOV. 23, 2009—58 persons are killed in Ampatuan, Maguindanao. The victims included 32 journalists and media workers, two lawyers, six motorists passing the same route, and the wife and sisters of Esmael “Toto” Mangudadatu, at that time the vice mayor of Buluan town in Maguindanao. Jan. 5, 2010—Hearings begin. Identify-
ing so many suspects took time; some could not be found. By early 2013, only 81 of the 98 arrested suspects had been arraigned. June 2010—A potential witness, Suwahid Upham, is killed. Upham had admitted in an interview that he was one of those who killed the victims, and that it was Datu Unsay himself who shot Genalyn Mangudadatu, the wife of Esmael “Toto” Mangudadtu.
December 2013—To speed up the trial, Chief Justice Ma. Lourdes Sereno issues new guidelines, naming an “Assisting Judge” to QC RTC Branch 221 who could take over some of the work in the trial. 2014—The Fortun Narvaza & Salazar Law Office, which represented several members of the Ampatuan family, withdraws as counNext page sel for the accused.
QUOTES ON THE CASE “Wala na ang utak, ang isang mata, ang kabila ng mukha. Sabog ang ulo. Wasak ang left arm.” ― Myna Reblando, describing the cadaver of her husband, Bong. “Patay na patay...Suot n’ya ’yung polo shirt na gift ko, naka-jacket. Wala nang bibig dahil doon lumabas ang bala, luwa
ang kaliwang mata, wala na ang buhok.” ― Noemi Parcon, describing the cadaver of her husband Joel: “That is easy, father. Kill them all if they come here.” ― Lakmudin Saliao, in his testimony in Sept. 2010, quoting then Datu Unsay town Mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr. as hav-
ing said in response to the question of his father, the late Andal Sr., as to what they should do to stop his rival from filing his candidacy for governor: “The reason I came out is to prove that I am not hiding and that I am not guilty.” ― Andal Ampatuan Jr., during the Next page
to Saudi Arabia
By Vito Barcelo THE Labor department will reduce the deployment of Filipino workers to Saudi Arabia to protest Riyadh’s inaction on the unpaid wages of more than 9,000 Filipino workers worth P4.6 billion, its top official said Wednesday. “We plan to scale down the deployment of [Filipino workers] to Saudi Arabia starting next year,” Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III said. “This is to call the attention of the Saudi government to act on the plight of thousands of Filipino workers who have yet to get their salaries since 2017.” Next page
Duterte tops Reds ‘hit list’—PSG By MJ Blancaflor PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte is included in the “hit list” of the New People’s Army, which was reportedly ready to launch attacks this Christmas season, his top security aide said Wednesday. “Normally, during this period, they are expected to have accomplishments in terms of army development and in taking down their targets,” said Brig. Gen. Jose Eriel Niembra, chief of the Presidential Security Group. “We expect that the President is number one in their list.” He assured the public, however, that the PSG would keep the President safe. On Tuesday, National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon Jr. said the
Communist Party of the Philippines and its armed wing the NPA would assassinate people, including the President, and those who do not submit to their will as they mark their 51st year of existence on Dec. 26. Esperon said security forces have been advised to take appropriate countermeasures against the “sinister threat” posed by the NPA and advised the public to remain vigilant. He also asked the public to report to the authorities any suspicious individuals or activities. The rebels, Esperon said, are growing “more desperate to stem the tide and cling to whatever dwindling influence they have left.” Next page