The Maguindanao massacre in Nov. 23, 2009 left 57 people dead, most of whom were journalists.
The lawyer friend who was the recipient of text messages from Maguindanao massacre victim Cynthia Oquendo-Ayon testified on Thursday that he received four text messages from Oquendo-Ayon about her abduction on Nov. 23, 2009.
Arnold Oclarit said he called Oquendo-Ayon upon reading the second message, and was told by the victim that she was not joking when she sent the messages about being abducted along with several others.
“I wanted to ask her about the text messages she sent me,” the witness told a Quezon City court on Thursday.
Oquendo-Ayon and her father, Catalino Oquendo, were among the 57 people killed in the Nov. 23, 2009, Maguindanao massacre, alleged to have been masterminded by members of the Ampatuan clan.
Oclarit, a General Santos City-based lawyer, said he was able to reach Oquendo-Ayon at around 10:50 a.m. on Nov. 23.
“She said in a low and frightened voice, don’t call. Cell phones are not allowed here,” said Oclarit, who promptly ended the call.
According to Oclarit, he saved the messages he received from Oquendo-Ayon in a folder in his cell phone, knowing their evidentiary value. However, sometime in September 2011 his phone got reformatted and the messages were deleted.
Oclarit said he had already received two text messages from Oquendo-Ayon when he decided to call her.
The first text message, received at 10:30 a.m., was in a mix of English, Visayan and Tagalog.
“In substance, it said I with Tatay and several others have been kidnapped. Advise client of Ampatuan. We might get killed. Send to Tom [lawyer Tomas Falque],” Oclarit said.
The witness said he first thought it was a joke, and sent a reply: “What’s this?”
The answer: “True. Not joke.” He then called up Oquendo-Ayon and heard her frightened voice.
The witness said he got another message from Oquendo-Ayon, which read: “Loc. NLF Nascom 12.”
As he could not make out its meaning, Oclarit dialed Oquendo-Ayon’s number but cut the call on remembering her earlier warning not to call.
Oclarit said that as instructed by Oquendo-Ayon, he called up lawyer Tomas Falque, whom he identified as the election lawyer of the Ampatuans.
The witness said he told Falque about Oquendo-Ayon’s text messages to him and that “Cynthia might be in danger.”
He also forwarded the victim’s text messages to Falque. The latter reportedly told him that he had been unable to contact the Ampatuans.
Soon after, Oclarit received a last message from Oquendo-Ayon, which he recalled as saying: “MNLF HQ SH Aguak, Nascom 12. Many people killed. We might be next.”
Oclarit identified the messages he recalled receiving from the Oquendo-Ayon in a transcript of the contents of Oquendo-Ayon’s cell phone.
The defense pointed out, however, that aside from the witness’ memory and the transcript, there was no other documentation of the messages.
“The best evidence would be my cell phone,” the witness said.
Earlier Thursday, the mortician who found Oquendo-Ayon’s cell phone was stopped yet again from taking the stand as defense lawyers moved to appeal the judge’s decision allowing his testimony.
Quezon City Judge Jocelyn Solis-Reyes, who had already allowed the witness to take the stand at Thursday’s hearing, reversed herself and said she could not let Jonito Puton testify just yet after the defense panel said it intended to file a motion for reconsideration in 15 days.
The judge also noted that lead prosecutor Peter Medalle had already removed the embalmer’s name from the list of witnesses, as pointed out by the defense.
Puton, an assistant embalmer from General Santos City, is said to have discovered the cell phone in the underwear of victim Oquendo-Ayon. The phone reportedly contained messages that Oquendo-Ayon had sent to a lawyer friend shortly before she was killed.
The prosecution said Puton’s testimony would prove the alleged conspiracy of all of the accused in the massacre. With a report from Daphne J. Magturo