MANILA, Philippines - The Aquino administration ended yesterday unable to meet its target to secure the conviction of the principal accused in the 2009 Maguindanao massacre case.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) was targeting the verdict on the multiple murder case against Andal “Datu Unsay” Ampatuan Jr. and brother Zaldy Ampatuan to be handed down by the Quezon City Regional Trial Court (QCRTC) Branch 221 on or before June 2016 or before former president Benigno Aquino III stepped down from office.
But six-and-a-half years after the Nov. 23, 2009 carnage of 58 people, the justice being sought by families of the victims has not been served and appears to be far from sight.
Former justice secretary and now Sen. Leila de Lima earlier said the government was expecting conviction in the case before the end of Aquino’s term since prosecutors were able to present a strong case to prove the involvement of the Ampatuans in the massacre.
De Lima said the DOJ “has ably done its job of presenting a case for conviction” and that “there could be a major action on the case before president Aquino steps down.”
But former justice secretary Emmanuel Caparas admitted that such target was really difficult to meet.
“The court will really have a hard time resolving that case, considering the number of parties involved. Perhaps, it would take four to five more years for the verdict from this point when the defense has just started presenting their case,” Caparas explained to The STAR.
“There are just too many people involved in this case and there are more possible witnesses – including warlords in Maguindanao – who are afraid to come forward and who have actually moved on already,” Caparas stressed.
Caparas believes the case would not end with the possible conviction of any of the accused, citing possible filing of appeals in higher courts including the Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court that could take even more years to be resolved.
“An ordinary suit where there is one accused and one victim already takes several years to be resolved with finality. Imagine how long this case – where you have 58 victims and almost 200 accused – will be resolved,” he pointed out.
Caparas, however, gave assurance the DOJ has done its part in ensuring the speedy resolution of the case. He said the prosecutors would always oppose dilatory moves of the defendants.
Caparas also hopes the DOJ, now under Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II, would continue to pursue “fairness and justice” for families of the victims, mostly journalists.
After six years of trial, the QC RTC has not yet resolved the case, which involves 58 victims, 197 accused with 111 of them arrested and arraigned, 147 prosecution witnesses and 300 defense witnesses.
One of the principal accused, former Maguindanao governor Andal Ampatuan Sr., died last July. Two other accused, Hernanie Decipulo and Sukarno Badal, had also died while in detention.
The Supreme Court, for its part, said it has adopted measures to expedite the resolution of the Maguindanao massacre case, including the designation of QC RTC Judge Jocelyn Solis-Reyes to exclusively hear the multiple murder case.
The SC also designated a third assisting judge to handle the conduct of all non-trial incidents in the Maguindanao massacre cases, such as arraignments and pre-trials, as well as to decide incidents and motions that are not vital to the merits of the cases with dispatch.
In 2013, the high court also issued several new guidelines, including the use of judicial affidavits in lieu of the direct testimonies of the witnesses, to speed up the trial proceedings of the case.
Records showed the court handling the case has resolved all outstanding formal offers of evidence against the bail applications of the accused. It has also resolved all bail applications of the major accused, with only those of Ampatuan Jr. remaining.
But the trial court has ordered accused to close his presentation of evidence not later than December 2015.