MANILA, Philippines ? The principal suspect in the Nov. 23 Maguindanao massacre insisted on his innocence and said this would come out in a ?fair trial.?

For the first time since his incarceration at the National Bureau of Investigation jail, Datu Unsay Mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr. agreed to be interviewed by reporters Tuesday and expressed confidence that his innocence would be proven in court.

The hearing on the bail petition filed by the multiple murder suspect resumes Wednesday before Quezon City Judge Jocelyn Solis-Reyes in a converted courtroom in Camp Crame, Quezon City.

Speaking in Filipino, in which his lawyer Sigfrid Fortun had claimed he was not conversant, Ampatuan said: ?I request only one thing?a fair trial. I know 100 percent that I will win if I am given a fair trial. This is what I ask from the government and those people handling my case.?

The mayor, who was dressed in a plain white T-shirt and short pants, with a Rolex watch on his wrist, spoke with reporters through the perimeter fence of the NBI jail reception area.

He said he had been wrongly accused of the massacre of 57 people, that he had done nothing wrong, and that the true culprits should surface: ?Napagbintangan lang ako dito. Wala akong kasalanan. Lumabas na dapat ang may kasalanan. (I am wrongfully accused here. I am not at fault. Let those who are at fault come out.)?

He likewise denied receiving special treatment at the NBI jail.

?Allah will help me?

Ampatuan, who has been charged with 41 counts of murder, claimed that he prayed five times a day.

He said he felt ?normal? on the eve of the resumption of his hearing but that he missed his family?two wives and nine children, none of whom have visited him in jail.

The mayor refused to reply to most of the questions posed by reporters, particularly if he had anything to say to the families of the massacre victims, the state of his health, if he and other family members had discussed the case against him, or if they had visited him.

He concluded the interview by saying: ?I have no comment to those questions. I only want to say one thing: I want a fair trial. Allah will help me. Allah is not sleeping.?

2 witnesses

The team led by Assistant Chief State Prosecutor Richard Fadullon is to present today two witnesses who will testify against the grant of bail to Ampatuan.

State Prosecutor Juan Pedro Navera declined to name the witnesses, citing security concerns.

A check with the Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 221 showed that one of the two male witnesses would be asked to authenticate certain video footage.

One of the witnesses is an official in Mindanao, and the other, a videographer.

On private prosecutor Nena Santos? motion, Judge Reyes allowed the setting up of video equipment before the start of today?s hearing so that the footage to be authenticated could be viewed on one of the courtroom walls.

Ampatuan Jr. has asked the court to allow him to post bail even if murder is a capital, and therefore nonbailable, offense.

Earlier, Fadullon said the team of state prosecutors would present 12 witnesses for the hearing on the bail petition.

But Fadullon said the court had advised the team to trim its list of witnesses so as to speed up the proceedings.

No ?ambush? interviews

The Philippine National Police has banned ?ambush? interviews outside the courtroom in Camp Crame, said Chief Supt. Leonardo Espina, its spokesperson.

Espina said Chief Supt. Rommel Heredia, chief of the Headquarters Support Service (HSS), had ordered the ban to bring back normalcy in the camp immediately after the hearing.

He said a press briefing?to be conducted by Supreme Court spokesperson Midas Marquez and himself?would instead be held in Camp Crame?s multipurpose building.

?We ask for your consideration. You should understand the HSS. We need to clear the streets immediately,? Espina told reporters.

But after a brief dialogue with the PNP Press Corps, Espina allowed spot interviews with personalities who had attended the hearing.

He said that to ensure ?order? in the camp, journalists would be allowed to conduct interviews only on one side of the street outside the courtroom.

?We do not intend to [prevent] members of the media from performing their duties. We just want order and offer them a better venue,? he told the Inquirer.

Additional restriction

Journalists covering the PNP assailed Heredia?s order, saying it was another restriction on media coverage of the historic trial of the alleged mastermind of the Maguindanao massacre.

Aside from barring live TV and radio coverage of the trial, the Supreme Court has also prohibited journalists from bringing mobile phones and voice recorders inside the courtroom.

The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines has sent Judge Reyes a letter asking that live coverage of the landmark case be allowed.

Reyes was studying the case records at press time, according to a court employee who asked not to be named.