DOJ chief confident of Ampatuan conviction

MANILA, Philippines — So many accused, so many witnesses, but the 2009 Maguindanao massacre case is finally up for resolution, and the government is confident of securing a guilty verdict.

On the ninth anniversary yesterday of the country’s worst case of election violence, Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra expressed confidence that a conviction is forthcoming.

The evidence is “very strong,” Guevarra said, particularly against principal defendant Andal “Datu Unsay” Ampatuan Jr.

Fifty-eight people, including 32 journalists, were murdered by an estimated 300 people allegedly led by Ampatuan on Nov. 23, 2009, in the Maguindanao town named after the clan.

The case is being heard by Judge Jocelyn Solis-Reyes of the Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 221.

“We could have done it faster, but there were certain factors beyond our control. So many accused, so many witnesses too,” Guevarra said, explaining the slow litigation. “Anyway, we are winding up now, and we expect a decision hopefully within the first half of 2019.”

The families of the 58 victims are looking forward to a conviction.

Their optimism was bolstered by the visit of Presidential Communications Secretary Martin Andanar and Undersecretary Joel Egco of the Presidential Task Force on Media Security at the massacre memorial in Barangay Masalay in Ampatuan town.

Andanar and Egco told Maguindanao Gov. Esmael Mangudadatu of the possibility of promulgation in the next few months.

“We are confident of that,” Egco told Mangudadatu in the presence of reporters.

Andanar said President Duterte also wanted a final resolution of the case.

“We are hoping for that. Hopefully justice will be served,” Andanar told Mangudadatu.

Mangudadatu, whose wife and sisters were among the victims of the massacre, expressed confidence that they would secure a conviction.

“We are happy with the latest developments on the case. We are thankful to Secretary Andanar and Undersecretary Egco for coming over to personally relay to us the good news on behalf of President Duterte,” Mangudadatu said.

Mangudadatu lost his wife Genalyn, his two sisters and several other relatives in the carnage.

The victims were on their way to the provincial capitol in Shariff Aguak town to file the certificate of candidacy for Mangudadatu, then vice mayor of Buluan.

Militiamen identified with the Ampatuan clan flagged down the convoy, herded the victims to a nearby hill and gunned them down with automatic rifles.

According to Mangudadatu, he was offered P100 million to back off from prosecuting the suspects in the massacre.

He revealed the extrajudicial settlement attempt to Andanar, as he narrated how the person sent to broker the payoff, Ariel Galindez, was killed in a motorcycle accident in South Cotabato after he turned the offer down.

Mangudadatu, however, declined to identify who offered the bribe.

Aida dela Cruz-Agad, a senior staff of the Philippine Information Agency in Region 12, said the families of the journalists killed in the massacre were elated about the possible conviction.

“They have been waiting, wishing for that,” she said.

The Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines (FOCAP) has called on the government to speed up the trial against those charged for the incident.

“The case has dragged on for nearly a decade, despite repeated promises of swift justice. The continuing injustice is a stark reminder of the impunity that the government has failed to end in the country,” the group said. – With John Unson, Rhodina Villanueva, Janvic Mateo