The Philippine Online Chronicles

Almost two years after the Maguindanao Massacre, the trial looking into the killing of 58 individuals, including 32 journalists, drags on.

Charged in the November 23, 2009 massacre are members of the influential Ampatuan clan of Maguindanao, including former Maguindanao governor and the clan’s patriarch, Andal Ampatuan Sr.; his son and namesake, former Datu Unsay town mayor Andal Jr.; suspended Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao governor Zaldy Ampatuan; Akmad Ampatuan; and Sajod Islam Ampatuan.

Only the two Andals have been arraigned by the court, both of whom have pleaded not guilty to the crime. Of the 197 other suspects identified, less than a hundred have been arrested by authorities.

“We find the trial very slow. Even if hearings are held twice a week, it is as though nothing is happening. We are not satisfied. Two years has passed and still, we see no light,” Editha Tiamzon, widow of UNTV driver Daniel Tiamzon, one of the victims of the Ampatuan massacre, said in an interview with fellows of the Graciano Lopez Jaena Community Journalism Fellowship.

The trial is locked up in bail proceedings, with 48 suspects filing petitions for bail, said lawyer Prima Quinsayas of the Freedom Fund for Filipino Journalists (FFFJ).

According to a report by the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR), two members of the Ampatuan clan have asked the Regional Trial Court (RTC) of Quezon City Branch 22 to dismiss the murder charges against them.

Akmad and Anwar filed separate motions claiming that the court has “no probable cause to indict them for multiple murder.” Akmad claimed he was in another town at the time of the incident and that witnesses never mentioned his participation in any meeting to plan the Ampatuan massacre. Anwar, meanwhile, said that only one “highly dubious and perjured affidavit” mentioned his name. The two have filed petitions for certiorari before the Court of Appeals seeking to overturn the Department of Justice resolutions finding probable cause to indict them of murder.

The appellate court junked the petitions but the two have yet to be arraigned. A similar petition was filed by Zaldy and the CA has yet to issue a decision.

The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) is asking the court to have the three and three other members of the Ampatuan clan arraigned.

The NUJP said that while it recognizes and respects the decision of the local court to wait for a ruling on the motion filed by Zaldy and the other accused before the CA, their arraignment has taken too long.

While the local court seeks to hasten the case by adding another hearing day on Monday on top of the current Wednesday and Thursday proceedings and by asking the prosecution to prepare at least five witnesses for every trial day, the prosecution said it would be “an added burden to them.”

At present, the prosecution is required to present at least two witnesses per hearing as was agreed upon during last year’s preliminary trial.

In a report, the prosecution said while they lauded the court for its desire to speed up the case, the changes in rules might only send a backlash on the prosecution.

"The preparation of the witnesses is not easy. Sometimes it takes us two months just to prepare one witness because some of them do not understand Tagalog. We even have to get interpreters just so we can speak to them," said Regional Assistant State Prosecutor Peter Medalle.

Prosecutor Nestor Lazaro said most of their witnesses have to be flown in all the way from Mindanao. "Once we find these witnesses, the next problem is convincing them that it is safe for them to testify."

The twice-weekly hearings are held inside a makeshift courtroom at the Quezon City Jail Annex of the Metro Manila District Jail (MMDJ) inside Camp Bagong Diwa in Bicutan, Taguig. The facility is also where majority of the detained suspects, including the Ampatuans, are detained.

Both Medalle and Lazaro said they also handle high-profile bombing and kidnapping cases in Mindanao, including the one that happened in Sipadan and Dos Palmas. They also handle the Marlene Esperat murder case.

The prosecutors said speeding up the two-year-old trial would depend not necessarily on the number of witnesses being presented but on the quality of their testimonies.

Lazaro, in particular, said the trial will be expedited if prosecution witness Kenny Dalandag will be allowed to take the witness stand. At present, Dalandag cannot testify because of pending petitions from the defense filed separately before the Quezon City court and the Court of Appeals, seeking to prevent him from speaking up and instead include him as an accused.

In a related development, a recent survey of Social Weather Stations (SWS) showed that the Aquino administration was perceived to be poor "in resolving the Maguindanao massacre case with justice."

In a recent report, deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said that while the executive branch will make the needed moves to expedite the case in court, the decision of the courts is out of the Palace’s control.

"We recognize the fact that the case is under process and it's not something that is entirely under the jurisdiction of the Executive," Valte said.

“Until now, not all of the suspects have been arraigned. We were told it would take a minimum of two years. I don’t know why these are allowed. Ordinary people like me do not understand why our judicial system is like this. Can it be reformed? It is difficult to accept it would take 20 years or 200 years for the case to be resolved,” Grace Morales who lost a husband and a sister in the massacre said.

Campaign to stop impunity

Meanwhile, media groups and press freedom advocates from around the world have chosen to hold the first International Day to End Impunity (IDEI) on November 23 because it is the second anniversary of the Ampatuan massacre.

The IDEI is a global call to demand justice for those that have been persecuted for exercising their right to freedom of expression.

The Toronto-based International Freedom of Expression eXchange (IFEX) is the IDEI’s lead organizer. IFEX is a network of 95 free expression and free press organizations worldwide.

The CMFR, a member of the IFEX, called on the public to join the online IDEI campaign http://cmfr-phil.org/endimpunityinph .

The media watchdog listed ways on how to utilize the social media networks for the campaign.

Other activities include a roundtable discussion of stakeholders on the issue of impunity, screening of a documentary of the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ) on the killing of journalists and media practitioners in the Philippines.