Namesake of Maguindanao massacre witness hassled by court summonses

COTABATO City, Philippines—A civil court judge in North Cotabato has asked a Quezon City trial court to correct the address indicated on the summonses for Lakmudin Saliao, the former houseboy of the Ampatuan clan who turned against them in the marathon hearing of the Maguindanao massacre cases.

Judge Mohammad Saga Saliao of the Shari’ah Circuit Court in Kabacan, North Cotabato, said summonses meant for the prosecution witness had been addressed to their ancestral home in Esperanza, Sultan Kudarat— probably, because his third son is also named Lakmudin Saliao, who carries the nickname “Udin” or “Den.”

In one of his letters, Judge Saliao has informed Judge Jocelyn Solis of the Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 77 that Lakmudin, the witness, is not a resident of their home in Esperanza and is not even their relative.

The shari’ah judge said they received letters from a law firm, at least twice, seeking the presence of witness Lakmudin Saliao, alias Laks, and a certain Jorge Cariño on legal concerns related to the massacre cases.

The judge expressed concern over the welfare of his children, one of whom has been reviewing for the bar examinations.

But he said he became more apprehensive when his son’s namesake testified before the Anti-Money Laundering Council (Amlac), which petitioned the Court of Appeals (CA) to freeze government accounts for a paper-trail of alleged Ampatuan assets.

The CA’s Second Division has frozen, effective June 6, the government bank accounts of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), including funds allotted for Maguindanao province.

The bank accounts of the province’s income-generating Maguindanao Electric Cooperative, Inc. (Magelco) and the Deal Pawnshop here, owned by Delia Saquiton-Sumail, were also included in the 15-page CA freeze order.

The Muslim judge said he had been informed that because of the widespread adverse effect of the CA Amlac petition, some people were contemplating to file a class suit against Laks.

That even the bank account of Maguindanao province has been affected by the court’s freeze order was confirmed to Philippine Daily Inquirer by Vice Governor Ishmael “Dustin” Mastura.

Judge Saliao expressed fear that his family might unnecessarily be dragged into an ensuing legal battle over the CA ruling. He noted the significance of the CA ruling, coming as it did at a time when the provincial government of Maguindanao was in need of funds to help families displaced by floods.

Maguindanao residents have also been complaining of frequent brownouts, which were reportedly caused by the court’s freeze order on the Magelco accounts. Judge Saliao said he heard that some residents have been planning to stage a rally at the city plaza here to demand the lifting of the freeze order.

He said he did not personally know Laks, but based on his verification with some residents of Ampatuan, Maguindanao, Lakmudin was born Lakembo Sali to a policeman named Patrolman Sali Ebrahim, who served during martial law under then Ampatuan Mayor Datu Abdullah Sangki.

Reports quoting Laks’ affidavit showed that the witness had narrated what he knew of the “lavish lifestyle” of the accused in the Maguindanao massacre.

Laks has accused some prosecution and defense lawyers of allegedly colluding to set the accused free.

Former Maguindanao governor Andal Ampatuan Sr. and his sons, former ARMM govenor Zaldy Ampatuan and former Datu Unsay mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr. have been accused as the masterminds of the slaughter of 57 people, mostly local journalists, on Nov. 23, 2009, as they were on their way to the local election office to file the candidacy papers of their political rival.