Kin of massacre victims irked by Ampatuan patriarch ‘not guilty’ plea

MANILA, Philippines—Mild-mannered and calm on most trial dates, Juliet Evardo let out a gasp when she heard Andal Ampatuan Sr. deny taking part in the slaughter of 57 unarmed civilians in Maguindanao nearly two years ago.

“Why not guilty? The backhoe was in his name. How could he enter a not guilty plea?” said Evardo, raising her voice in an incredulous tone. “And he’s being defended by his lawyer who asked us victims to be sent out? If this happened to them, how would they feel?”

But she later conceded that the “not guilty” plea Andal Ampatuan Sr. entered was “expected, but I could not help letting out a gasp.”

“My heart skipped [a beat] when he was finally arraigned. For the longest time, we have sought for him to face the case,” she said.

Evardo, who lost her son Julito in the Maguindanao massacre, said she was glad the Ampatuan patriarch, who ruled Maguindanao for much of the last two decades,  faced the victims’ families through his arraignment.

For her part, Edith Tiamzon said she would stay put should Judge Jocelyn Solis-Reyes grant the defense panel’s request that the complainants be removed from the court for their emotional outburst.

A number of complainants shrieked in apparent exasperation when Ampatuan entered his “not guilty” plea for the murders of 57 people, consisting of lawyers and female relatives of then gubernatorial candidate Esmail Mangudadatu and about 30 media workers, in November 2009.

The party was en route to file Mangudadatu’s certificate of candidacy for the May 2010 elections.

“You can’t blame the victims’ relatives for their outburst. We’ve waited for it [arraignment] for so long. Their reaction was normal,” said Tiamzon, whose husband Daniel was among those killed.

While a defense lawyer insinuated in open court that the outburst was a calculated move, Evardo insisted it wasn’t coordinated.