De Lima admits slow pace of Maguindanao massacre trial

MANILA, Philippines - The trial of the Ampatuans for the 2009 Maguindanao massacre has been going at a slow pace, the justice secretary admitted yesterday.

Secretary Leila de Lima said lawyers of Andal Ampatuan Jr. and his co-accused have raised to the Supreme Court almost every unfavorable ruling of the Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 221.

“These circumstances that delay the trial are beyond our control,” she said. “We can’t stop them from filing petitions in the Court of Appeals and even Supreme Court.”

The prosecution has adopted the testimonies of witnesses during the bail hearings for the trial proper to expedite the case, she added.

De Lima asked the families of the 58 victims to avoid monetary or any other settlement offer from the accused.

“I fully understand the impatience and/or restlessness on the part of the victims’ families vis-a-vis the pace of the trial,” she said.

“But they know that while slow, the proceedings continue to move and progress.”