Never forget

March 3 is the 100th day of Ampatuan massacre and justice remains elusive for the families of more than 57 individuals, including 32 journalists slain.

On November 23, 2009, a convoy of seven vehicles carrying journalists, lawyers, and relatives of Maguindanao vice mayor Datu Ismael “Toto" Mangudadatu left Buluan to file Mangudadatu’s Certificate of Candidacy at the Commission on Elections (Comelec) office in Shariff Aguak, Maguindanao's capital. Armed men suddenly appeared and commandeered the vehicles and driven to Sitio Magating in Brgy. Salman, Ampatuan, Maguindanao.

The armed men systematically killed the hostages, shooting them at close range with rapid-fire weapons. At least some of the victims were shot in the genital area. Others were mutilated. Many were shot in the face, rendering them virtually unrecognizable.

Only two of the 197 suspects have been arrested. Datu Unsay Mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr., the prime suspect, is now detained at the National Bureau of Investigation headquarters in Manila. The trial for his case is being held at national police headquarters in Quezon City.

His father, former Maguindanao governor Andal Ampatuan Sr. is reportedly being accorded special treatment .

Andal Sr. has been detained at a room of the military hospital inside the Eastern Mindanao Command headquarters in Davao City following his arrest. He has been staying there since December 6 even as his medical ailments require no hospitalization, Mindanews reported.

"Why is he still staying in a hospital? Why is he not kept behind bars? He should not be given special favors because he’s involved in a horrible crime. He killed not one but many people,” said Myrna P. Reblando, chair of Justice Now!, the organization of families of the journalists killed in the Ampatuan Massacre. Reblando is the widow of slain Manila Bulletin reporter Alejandro “Bong” Reblando.

Trial too slow

The court hearing the multiple-murder charges against Andal suspended the trial indefinitely in order to resolve the pending motions that were filed both by the defense and the prosecution.

On February 24, Judge Jocelyn Solis Reyes of Branch 221 of the Regional Trial Court in Quezon City postponed the hearing to allow prosecutors and Ampatuan’s lawyer Sigfrid Fortun to submit their comments and also give herself time to resolve the motions.

Prosecutors said could the three motions filed by Ampatuan's lawyers could delay the proceedings by at least two weeks.

Foremost among the defense motions is the one asking Reyes to inhibit herself from hearing the case because of alleged bias. Another filed by the suspect’s nephew Saudi Ampatuan Jr. calls for the delay of the proceedings and a third, also filed by Saudi, asks for a suspension of the warrant of arrest against him and other suspects in the Nov. 23 massacre.

Delaying tactics?

A private prosecutor accused the camp of the Ampatuans of buying time and witnesses and trying to have an out-of-court settlement with the relatives of the massacre victims to get away with the multiple murder charges.

Private prosecutor Nena Santos, legal counsel of the Mangudadatu family, deemed the Ampatuan camp was apparently trying to delay the court proceedings. “They’re buying time. Buying to harass witnesses. Witnesses are being bought,” said Santos in an ambush interview with the Philippine Star online.

Santos added that some of the families of the media are being approached already for a settlement.

But the camp of the Ampatuan family denied this. Philip Pantojan, lawyer of the Ampatuans, said he would not have advised his clients to take such action as it would indicate “guilt."

Support fund or compensation?

Outgoing Justice Secretary Agnes Devanadera said a support fund for families of victims of the massacre could also counter reported efforts of the camp of the accused in the case to offer financial settlement to lawyers and families of victims in exchange for withdrawal of the cases.

The funds, she said would come from the private sector.

Reblando, spokesperson for the massacre victims’ group Justice Now, said the state should provide compensation to the victims and it should not hinge on the successful prosecution for multiple murders that may take a very long time.

The state, Reblando said, is 'equally to blame for the massacre.' Her late husband himself personally asked the military for security escorts but was turned down.

Lawyer Harry Roque, counsel for heirs of the slain journalists said, that all of the accused are agents of the state because they were either Vice-Mayor, Mayor, Governor, policemen, soldiers, or auxiliary forces to the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).

The victims' demand for compensation which is included in a recent suit they filed with the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission for Human Rights on behalf of the victims of the massacre.

Media restrictions remain

Security remained tight at the Philippine National Police headquarters in Camp Crame, February 24, for the resumption of the multiple murder trial of Andal Jr.

As in the past, media representatives covering the trial were again subjected to the strict three-layer security measures before entering the courtroom.

The November 23 Movement, a loose coalition of media groups, has been urging the court to lift the ban on media coverage, adding that the restrictions violate press freedom and the people's right to know.

Escape, promotion

A retired police colonel implicated in the Nov. 23 massacre has escaped from detention in Sultan Kudarat.

Superintendent Piang Adam, the former provincial director of Maguindanao Police, was detained for the possession of firearms believed to have been used in the killing of 57 people, including 32 journalists, in Ampatuan town. He was reported missing last week.

Moreover, one of the top ranking military officials relieved in connection with the massacre of 57 people in Maguindanao has been promoted.

Major General Alfredo Cayton, 6th Infantry Division commander at the time when the massacre took place, is now the Army vice commander, the second highest post in this branch of the armed forces.

Cayton and Col. Medardo Geslani were relieved from their posts as commanders of the Army’s 6th Infantry Division and 601st Brigade, respectively, for denying the security requests of journalists. They both underwent an investigation but were cleared by a military board.

In a report, Bayan Muna partylist Representative Satur Ocampo slammed the promotion, asking whether this was in exchange for Cayton’s “silence.” “Was the promotion in exchange for his silence? It must be reiterated that no one believes that the military had no part in the massacre – even indirectly and through inaction. Cayton and the soldiers under his command are accountable,” he said in a statement.

Army spokesman Lt. Col. Arnulfo Burgos Jr. defended Cayton's promotion, saying the latter went through the proper procedures of the Board of Generals.

This afternoon, journalists and media organizations will mark the 100^th day of the Ampatuan massacre with a protest and candle lighting at the Boy Scout monument in Quezon City.

Photo by Ayi S. Muallam c/o bulatlat.com. Some rights reserved.

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