No rift in Ampatuan case prosecution team

Former Datu Unsay Mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr. FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—We do not bother with the rants of “spoiled brats.”

Justice Undersecretary Francisco Baraan III, the official overseeing the state panel prosecuting suspects in the 2009 Maguindanao massacre case, on Friday scoffed at claims made by two private prosecutors that there are cracks within the team and that they are being left out in deciding on the direction of the prosecution’s strategy.

“They are like spoiled brats,” Baraan told the Inquirer in a phone interview on Friday.

“We always call on them and consult with them…We listen to them, allow them to say what they want, but they can’t insist on what they want,” Baraan said, adding that state prosecutors remain to be the lead of the prosecution.

Private prosecutors Nena Santos and Prima Jesusa Quinsayas on Thursday faced the media and complained about the prosecution panel’s plan to rest its case against Andal Ampatuan Jr. and 27 other accused as part of a “first in-first out” strategy to expedite the case.

The accused are facing charges for the Nov. 23, 2009, massacre that saw 58 people killed, 32 of them journalists and media workers.

The legal tack would allow a partial promulgation of the case against the primary accused before the end of President Benigno Aquino III’s term, even pending the presentation of evidence against 166 other accused, a strategy that the Supreme Court had allowed.

Another private prosecutor, lawyer Harry Roque, said he could not join his fellow private lawyers’ protest, saying the rift was not between private and state prosecutors but between the two (Santos and Quinsayas) and everyone else.

Baraan agreed to Roque’s point, saying, “They (Santos and Quinsayas) are the only ones making an issue out of it.”

Santos represents Maguindanao Gov. Esmael Mangudadatu and 26 other complainants, while Quinsayas represents the kin of 17 victims.

Despite the seeming storm of allegations, Baraan said the panel carries on with the job.

“I am angry at all these baseless, malicious insinuations, but I’m trying to keep cool…They’re just like (Typhoon) ‘Glenda’ passing by again, but this time, there’s no damage on us,” he told the Inquirer.

Baraan and 11 members of the prosecution panel met on Friday morning, even gaining Justice Secretary Leila de Lima’s support.

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