Quezon City court junks Andal Jr.’s bail plea

MANILA, Philippines - A Quezon City court has denied the petition for bail of Andal Ampatuan Jr., the primary suspect in the 2009 Maguindanao massacre.

In a 48-page resolution released yesterday, Judge Jocelyn Solis-Reyes of the Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 221 found evidence that Ampatuan participated in the massacre that claimed the lives of 58 people, including 32 media workers.

“The court is of the opinion that the defense failed to substantiate the alibi of the accused regarding his presence at the crime scene,” read the ruling dated May 30.

During the hearings on the bail petition, the prosecution presented several witnesses saying that Ampatuan took part in the planning and execution of the massacre in Sitio Masalay in Ampatuan town, Maguindanao on Nov. 23, 2009.

Among those presented were suspects-turned-state witnesses who testified that Ampatuan fired at the victims, including Genalyn Mangudadatu, wife of Maguindanao Gov. Esmael Mangudadatu.

The camp of Ampatuan argued that he was not in the country during the Nov. 17, 2009 meeting where the massacre was supposedly plotted.

He also claimed that he attended a municipal meeting of the local council on the day of the massacre.

While the court agreed that the prosecution failed to establish the participation of Ampatuan in the meeting, it noted that the defense failed to counter the testimonies of witnesses that he participated in the killings.