Evidence weak vs 16 ‘Maguindanao massacre’ cops but…

Maguindanao massacre carnage site in Barangay Salman, Ampatuan town in Maguindanao. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—Sixteen policemen tagged in the 2009 Maguindanao massacre may gain temporary liberty—but at a steep price of P11.6 million each.

In an order issued Wednesday resolving their bail petitions, Judge Jocelyn Solis-Reyes of Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 221 ruled that “the evidence of guilt of the accused is not strong.”

Reyes allowed them to post bail at P200,000 for each of the 58 counts of murder in what was considered the most gruesome political killing in the country, with the principal accused led by the patriarch and members of the powerful Ampatuan clan in Maguindanao province.

The policemen belonged to the 1508th Provincial Mobile Group of the Police Regional Office in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. They were assigned to man checkpoints in Ampatuan town, Maguindanao, where the killings happened on Nov. 23, 2009.

According to the testimonies, policemen carrying high-power firearms were tasked to check that day if the convoy carrying the supporters of then Buluan Vice Mayor Esmael Mangudadatu had arrived.

Mangudadatu’s supporters, along with more than 30 media workers, were then on their way to the Commission on Elections provincial office to file a certificate of candidacy for him in the 2010 elections, where he was to challenge Datu Unsay Mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr. for the gubernatorial post.

No link to time, place of crime

“Based on the evidence on record, not one of the testimonies or exhibits presented by the prosecution had particularly linked and identified the accused police officers to the relevant times and places surrounding the alleged killing of the victims,” Reyes said in her order.

The court pointed out that in a summary hearing for purposes of bail, the court determines the weight of the evidence and not the guilt or innocence of the accused.

The 16 policemen granted bail were:

PO1 Herich Amaba, PO3 Rasid Anton, PO3 Felix Eñate Jr., PO1 Esprielito Lejarso, PO1 Narkouk Mascud, SPO1 Eduardo Ong, PO2 Saudi Pasutan, PO1 Arnulfo Soriano, PO1 Pia Kamidon, PO3 Abibudin Abdulgani; PO2 Hamad Nana, PO1 Esmael Guialal, SPO1 Oscar Donato, PO1 Abdullah Baguadatu, PO2 Saudiar Ulah, and Insp. Michael Joy Macaraeg.

Except Ulah who applied for bail only in connection with 57 counts, all of them were allowed to post bail for the 58 counts.

“At most, only PO1 Amaba and Inspector Macaraeg were seen in the vicinity of Sitio Masalay, Barangay Salman, Ampatuan, Maguindanao,” the order said. “In particular, PO1 Amaba has been identified (as the one) conducting checkpoint operations at the crossing of Sitio Masalay in the morning of Nov. 23, 2009. Macaraeg, on the other hand, was seen after the alleged killing around noon of Nov. 23, 2009, in Sitio Malating.”

But the evidence so far presented did not show that Amaba and Macaraeg actually participated in the crime or that they were part of the conspiracy, the court said.

17th cop died in jail

A 17th policeman in the charge sheet, PO2 Hernanie Decipulo Jr., died in an apparent suicide while in detention at Quezon City Jail Annex inside Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig City in February 2012. An investigation revealed that he jumped from the fourth floor of the building.

Under the rules of court, the accused may file petitions to reduce bail or pay premiums to a surety or bonding company which will then guarantee their appearance in court or pay the bond in the event they jump bail.

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has called the Maguindanao Massacre the single deadliest event for journalists in history.

The 58 victims also included Mangudadatu’s wife, his two sisters, lawyers, aides, and motorists who were witnesses or were mistakenly identified as part of the convoy.

A total of 195 people are accused in the case, 111 of them detained as of May. With a report from Inquirer Research