Kin of Maguindanao massacre victims fear retaliation

MANILA, Philippines — Forty-two of the 56 accused who had been acquitted in the Maguindanao massacre case were released from detention on Friday, the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) said, even as the victims’ families expressed fears of retaliation.

Chief Insp. Xavier Solda, spokesperson for the BJMP, said four men who were tried for the case remained under the custody of the bureau because they were still facing other cases. Some of the inmates who were acquitted were under the custody of the Philippine National Police.

In total, 56 of the 101 accused were acquitted by Quezon City Regional Trial Court Judge Jocelyn Solis-Reyes. They included two members of the influential Ampatuan clan: Akmad “Toto” Ampatuan and Sajid Islam Ampatuan.

Convicted were 43 people, among them the principal accused: Andal Ampatuan Jr. and his two brothers Zaldy Ampatuan and Anwar Ampatuan Sr.

Four of those acquitted — Akad Macaton (alias Mohamad Salazar Piang), Denga Mentol, Richard Goffel and Arnel Abdullah — still have pending court cases, Solda said. Abdullah is facing charges of illegal possession of explosives, while Macaton remains on trial for a drug-related offense.

More than frustration

Shortly after Reyes issued her historic decision, the massacre victims’ families not only expressed frustration over the acquittals but also the apprehension that the accused people who had been released would soon retaliate.

“It isn’t a stretch to think the Ampatuans, from inside [prison], will use those who were acquitted as their arm on the outside,” said Ricardo Cachuela, who lost a sibling in the Nov. 23, 2009 mass slaughter. “They can use them to harass us.”

Cachuela asked the media not to lose interest in the “trial of the decade” despite its conclusion, saying the Ampatuans could receive special treatment at New Bilibid Prison, where moneyed, high-profile inmates had been known to enjoy privileges.

“Hopefully Congress can also strengthen the funds for the Witness Protection Program,” Cachuela said. “To protect us and the people we love, and so the truth can continue to come out.”

Three witnesses had been killed in the course of the decade-long trial.

Mary Grace Morales, who lost both her husband and sister in the massacre, said their legal victory would not make them less fearful of the Ampatuans’ “wide-ranging power.”

“Many of the families were really very scared after the promulgation,” she said. “That is why we cannot rest. We need to stay vigilant.”

/atm