International
Day To End Impunity: Groups decry slow wheels of justice over the trial of the
single most deadliest attack on journalists worldwide
The day-to-day legal clashes in court may have
become more intense and personal but there’s still no end in sight in the trial
of close to 200 defendants in connection with the Maguindanao massacre case in
southern Philippines.
To speed up hearings, private prosecutor Harry
Roque has recommended trimming the number of defendants from 196 to just 35 to
focus on those who were primarily responsible for the planning and killing two
years ago of 57 people, mostly media workers in 2009.
He said the other defendants could be charged
with lesser offenses.
"At the rate we are going, it could take
us at least 20 years to finish this," Roque said.
At present, there are 196 defendants, each of
whom are facing 57 cases. “That’s 11,172 cases. And international studies say
that it takes five years to try a single case in the Philippines. So that’s
55,000 years,” Roque said.
He said that not everyone responsible was
charged with war crimes after World War II. "Let’s just focus on the
primary accused...the Ampatuan family and those who actually pulled the
trigger," he added.
On the eve of the second anniversary of the
massacre, Amnesty International lamented the “very slow wheels of justice.” The
London-based group pressed the government to ensure “effective remedy” for the
victims and their families, and to “break the continuing impunity.”
A Catholic bishop dared the government to
apply to the case the same speed it demonstrated in pursuing criminal charges
against former President Gloria Arroyo.
"If they were able to have a speedy
resolution on Arroyo’s case overnight, they can also do it with the case
involving the Maguindanao massacre," Cotabato Auxiliary Bishop Jose Colin
Bagaforo said over Church-run Radio Veritas.
Not
forgotten
Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte
assured the public that the Aquino administration had not forgotten about the
case and that it hoped that it would be resolved under its watch.
Valte said that when the President last spoke
with the relatives of the massacre victims he told them that the government
would extend them assistance and that “we will not forget what happened.”
The Maguindanao massacre on Nov. 23, 2009,
left 57 people dead, including 32 media workers, in what is considered to be
the worst election-related violence in the country’s history. The remains of
the 58th victim, a media worker, have yet to be found.
It was also the single incident anywhere
around the world with the biggest number of media practitioners being killed,
international press organisations pointed out.
The media workers were part of a convoy
traveling with the wife of Esmael Mangudadatu who was going to file her
husband’s certificate of candidacy. Mangudadatu’s wife was accompanied by women
relatives and friends. They were all killed. Six other civilians who happened
to be passing by were also killed.
Many
at large
Two years after the gruesome murders, not even
half of the alleged perpetrators are in jail. Out of the 196 suspects, only 93
have so far been captured by the authorities.
Prosecutors have given to the police the names
of around 20 prominent suspects out of the 103 people who are still at large
but there is still “no word as to what happened to them.”
Of the 93 detained, 29 have yet to be
arraigned, including Zaldy Ampatuan, former governor of the Autonomous Region
in Muslim Mindanao.
Moreover, 50 of the 64 accused who have been
arraigned such as primary suspect former Mayor Andal “Datu Unsay” Ampatuan Jr.
have asked the court to allow them to post bail. Presiding Judge Jocelyn Solis
Reyes has yet to rule on their petitions as the court is still hearing
arguments.
"Last year, we were delayed for seven or
eight months until September because they asked the judge to inhibit herself.
We could have presented at least 20 witnesses during that time," said
private prosecutor Nena Santos, a lawyer of the Mangudadatus.
The prosecution has so far presented 72
witnesses out of the “not less than 300 witnesses” it intends to present.
18
years
The defense team expects the trial to last 18
years before the judge could finally come out with a ruling, said a defense
lawyer, who declined to be identified. He himself is planning to present at
least 325 witnesses for his client.
"The Maguindanao massacre case is nothing
to sneeze at,” the lawyer said, adding that the public should refrain from
pre-judging the case since the defense has not presented its witnesses.
He also pointed out that the 72 witnesses the
prosecution had presented were not all for the criminal cases because they
included the private complainants testifying on the civil aspect of the case.
In recent weeks, defense lawyers have tried to
push for the court to hold actual hearings on Mondays to expedite the cases
even if only the private complainants are presented.
3
hearings a week
The court practically holds three hearings a
week—motions are heard on Mondays in Quezon City while the actual trial is
conducted at Camp Bagong Diwa in Bicutan, Taguig City, on Wednesdays and
Thursdays.
Judge Reyes initially favored the proposal
after private prosecutor Prima Quimsayas, who represents families of some of
the slain media workers, said she could present her clients.
"Monday is open. The court can
accommodate the parties should they decide to present private complainants or
other incidents," Reyes said.
However, state prosecutors balked at the
defense motion, saying that they would be hard-pressed to hold three days of
hearings every week.
"(Quimsayas’) proposal was made on the
understanding that other private prosecutors would agree but they have not,”
State Prosecutor Peter Medalle told the court.
Other prosecutors say they would be
hard-pressed to present witnesses three times a week as they would have to be
flown from Mindanao and briefed before they can be presented in court.
State prosecutors also pointed out that they
were handling other criminal cases besides the Maguindanao massacre case.
Amend
rules
Santos said prosecutors were hoping that
witnesses, who had testified and were cross-examined by some of the defense
lawyers, would no longer be recalled to be reexamined again by other defense
lawyers. However, this would entail amending court rules.
"Our target is to finish presenting the
prosecution’s evidence in three years but that depends on the cross
examination. We don’t control cross and there are many defense lawyers
repeating questions already asked during their own cross,” she said.
Roque went further and said the Supreme Court
should look into amending the Rules of Court to allow the lawyers of prominent
defendants to present their witnesses once the prosecution wraps up its
presentation in a particular case.
"I think we can do this in Unsay’s case
and have a ruling in two years. Otherwise, we are not getting anywhere…even if
we hold daily hearings,” Roque said.
Bogged
down
"We’re bogged down in cross-examination
and the witnesses will be recalled all over again,” he added.
Santos said that at least, after the original
panel of prosecutors in the case were replaced in April, the prosecution team
has been faster in preparing its witnesses.
Judge Reyes has been freed from handling other
cases after the Supreme Court this year appointed two pairing judges to assist
her—one to handle more than 220 criminal cases and another to try around 200
civil cases.
However, while these cases have been assigned
to other judges, their paperwork is still handled by Reyes’ court staff.
The case file of the Maguindanao massacre has
reached 38 volumes of pleadings and orders, with documents filed almost
everyday.
Philip C. Tubeza
Philippine Daily Inquirer
With reports from TJ Burgonio, Jocelyn R. Uy, Christine O. Avendaño and Julie M.
Aurelio
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