Ampatuans want presentation of 2 witnesses not in court’s list deferred

MANILA, Philippines—A lawyer of prime suspect Andal Ampatuan Jr. and his father, Andal Sr. is asking for the deferment of the presentation of two prosecution witnesses who are not in a court-approved  list of witnesses and evidence in the Maguindanao massacre case.

The two witnesses in question are Gemma Oquendo, sister of victim and  lawyer Cynthia Oquendo, and an unnamed forensic expert of the National  Bureau of Investigation.

In an urgent pleading, Atty. Philip Sigfrid Fortun sought an official ruling from Judge Jocelyn Solis-Reyes of Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 221 on what the defense dubbed as the “opening of the floodgates to  forgotten, manufactured and contrived testimonies.”

Last week, prosecutor Peter Medalle announced that they will present thetwo witnesses in court at the resumption of the hearing on Wednesday.

Fortun, however, argued that the two are not included in the pretrial order’s list released by the court in Sept. and Nov. 2010 after the conclusion of the pretrial conference.

Prominent members of the Ampatuan clan are among the 196 accused in the murder of 57 civilians, mostly journalists, in Ampatuan town, Maguindanao on Nov. 23, 2009.