MANILA, Philippines -- Human rights group scored the Department of Justice (DoJ) for its failure to immediately act on the request of a witness to the massacre in Maguindanao that he be given government protection.

Elaine Pearson, Asia Director of Human Rights Watch said witness Suwaib Upham, who was killed last June 14 in Parang town, has been requesting to be admitted to the government?s Witness Protection Program (WPP) for over three months.

?Yet the department was still considering his request for protection at the time of his killing,? Pearson said.

Last April 22, Pearson said Kenneth Roth, Executive Director of Human Rights Watch called on acting Justice Secretary Alberto Agra to take action to protect Upham. The appeal came after Upham informed them that there was a bounty on his head.

?Suwaib Upham took enormous personal risks by agreeing to testify against Ampatuan family members, yet the government, knowing full well he was in danger, did nothing. This sends the worst possible message to other witnesses thinking of coming forward,? Pearson said.

Upham had been a militia member for the Ampatuans, Maguindanao?s most powerful ruling family. Upham came out of hiding in February and offered to testify about the massacre through one of the private prosecutors in the Ampatuan trial. In exchange for his testimony, he sought protection.

Upham knew the inner workings of the Ampatuans? state-backed militia, their sources of weapons, and the command structure of the police, military, and paramilitary forces in Maguindanao. He also knew details of past abuses perpetrated by the Ampatuans and their private army.

Pearson said Upham could have been a key witness to the massacre in the town of Ampatuan last Nov. 23, 2009.

Upham, Pearson said, was one of those who stopped the convoy led by Buluan Vice Mayor Esmael "Toto" Mangudadatu's wife who was set to file for her husband?s candidacy in the May 2010 Maguindanao gubernatorial elections.
The gunmen summarily executed at least 57 people, including Mangudadatu family members and supporters, bystanders, and more than 31 members of the media and their support staff.

Those charged with the killings include members of the Ampatuan family, together with police, military, and paramilitary personnel. Andal Ampatuan, Jr., then mayor of the town of Datu Unsay, and the son of former Maguindanao governor, Andal Ampatuan, Sr., is the lead suspect in the case. He was charged with multiple counts of murder on December 1, 2009, and is in custody while his bail hearing continues.