SC seeks more guidelines to hasten Maguindanao massacre trial

The names of the victims of the Nov. 23, 2009 Maguindanao massacre are written on markers at the carnage site in Barangay Salman, Ampatuan town in Maguindanao. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines – The Supreme Court has acknowledged that it may need to grant “greater impetus” to hasten the resolution of the Maguindanao massacre case.

The high tribunal said that while Judge Jocelyn Solis-Reyes of the Branch 221 of the Quezon City regionl trial court has used “numerous measures to expedite the resolution of the cases, this Court recognizes that it may need to
grant even greater impetus to the progress of these cases”.

Out of 560 motions, manifestations and petitions filed on the case, the lower court has resolved 427.

The court has heard 139 witnesses on trial held thrice a week while the remaining days were for resolving motions, manifestations and petitions.

Out of the 194 accused, 104 have been arraigned, 66 have pending petition for bail.

Records of the case have reached 109 volumes, including 71 volumes of case records and 38 volumes of transcripts of stenographic notes.

The high court has issued additional guidelines to speed up the trial of the case, including designating a third assisting judge to handle incidents related to the case; the use of judicial affidavit for the testimonies of the remaining witnesses.

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