Ampatuan death: No effect on massacre case, trial on

Even in death, Andal Ampatuan Sr. will have to answer for the massacre of 58 people nearly six years ago in a town bearing his name, the deadliest election-related violence in the country.

The death of the Ampatuan clan patriarch, the main suspect in the massacre that shocked the world, does not spare him from his civil debt, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima said on Saturday.

“Andal Sr.’s death extinguishes his criminal liability, but not his civil liability for the massacre,” De Lima said.

The trial at the Quezon City Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 221 will also proceed as usual, she said.

“[His death will have] no effect on the trial of the case. Trial continues with respect to the other accused,” De Lima said.

Harry Roque, a private prosecutor representing 15 of the massacre victims, said it was unfortunate that both the victims and Ampatuan Sr. were “deprived of judicial determination of whether he was guilty or not.”

“Since he is dead, the criminal case is extinguished, but the civil case (for damages) continues. What will happen is he will be substituted by his estate,” Roque said.

Roque said he will move for a summary judgment on Ampatuan Sr.’s case once the prosecution has filed the formal offer of evidence at the Quezon City court.

“We have presented our evidence but there is no formal offer of evidence yet. Once there is a formal offer, we will move for summary judgment since Andal Sr. did not present evidence in the bail hearing,” he said.

While the summary judgment will not result in a conviction, it will determine whether the victims are entitled to recover damages. Roque’s clients are asking for P30 million each in damages.

The human-rights lawyer’s group Centerlaw, which is headed by Roque, said that “the search for justice continues and we will persevere on behalf of our clients.”

Ampatuan Sr.’s lawyer, Salvador Panelo, expressed frustration that his client died before he could defend himself in court.

“As a lawyer, I regret that he has to die and deprive me of presenting him as my witness and depriving himself to testify on the side of the Ampatuans,” he said.

Panelo said he had evidence to dispute claims by a key witness who had testified that he was at a family meeting called by Ampatuan, where the decision was made to carry out the massacre.

 

Snail’s pace trial

Some of the massacre victims’ relatives said they had forgiven Ampatuan Sr. but wished that he had faced justice before he died.
READ: Maguindanao Massacre widows ‘cannot forgive’ Ampatuan Sr.

The trial has been excruciatingly slow, with allegations of bribery, potential witnesses being killed or threatened, and delaying maneuvers by the clan’s lawyers. Many of the victims’ widows have been left struggling, their children forced to drop out of school due to poverty.

Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno recently appealed for the public’s understanding, saying earlier this month that the trial was proceeding “in good time” given the magnitude of the highly complex case.

She said she was “very proud of the pace” at which the trial was going, with the high court coming up with unprecedented rules to expedite the disposition of the case.

For one, Quezon City RTC Branch 221 Judge Jocelyn Solis-Reyes was allowed to focus solely on the one trial in her court, and given three assisting judges to handle the case.

She was also allowed to issue partial judgments so she could release decisions after finishing the presentation of evidence against certain accused, proceeding later with the trial of the other accused.

Maguindanao Gov. Esmael “Toto” Mangudadatu, who lost his wife Genalyn in the massacre, said he would have wanted for Ampatuan Sr. to have asked forgiveness for the sins he had committed before he died.

But then he died without repenting, he said.

“Let Allah judge him for his sins,” Mangudadatu said.

“May he rest in peace,” he added.

But the Maguindanao governor said the provincial government would not provide burial honors for Ampatuan Sr.

“He was not a hero who is entitled to burial honors but we will not oppose his burial in Maguindanao,” Mangudadatu said.

Some are forgiving

“Even before his death, deep in my heart I have already forgiven him. As a devout Christian, I believe it is only in forgiving that we are forgiven,” said former Cotabato City Councilor Marino Ridao Sr., whose son, Anthony, was among those killed in the massacre.

Anthony was driving his Toyota Tamaraw on his way to Cotabato City tailing a convoy of vehicles when gunmen flagged down his car.

But while he has forgiven Ampatuan Sr., “our cry for justice continues. Justice must be served,” said Ridao.

Ma. Reynafe Momay-Castillo, whose father, Reynaldo Momay, was also killed, said she too had forgiven the elder Ampatuan.

“I have forgiven him. I know he killed so many people, including my father, but I have forgiven him,” she told the Inquirer before flying back to the United States after spending some time in Sultan Kudarat for the burial of her mother, Femy, who died on June 16.

“Deep in my heart, I have forgiven him as he was dying in the intensive care unit,” she said.

Castillo, however, said that justice was so slow that the relatives of the victims were losing hope.

Regrets, sadness

She said she regretted her mother died without seeing the massacre suspects convicted.

“I know how it feels to lose a loved one. Deep inside me, I am praying that Andal Sr. asked forgiveness from the people so that his journey to the unknown would be lighter and that Allah would accept him,” she said.

Grace Morales, the widow of Rosell Morales, said she was saddened by the death of Ampatuan Sr.

“I am sad because he died without the case resolved. Death had overtaken him because justice is so slow,” Morales said.

She expressed some apprehension that the jailed sons and relatives of Ampatuan Sr. would be granted temporary freedom to mourn with their families in Maguindanao.

Widows cannot forgive

Some of the widows, however, said they could not forgive Ampatuan Sr.

“I cannot forgive him because he has shown no remorse, and the fact that the case has dragged adds to our pain,” said Gloria Teodoro, whose newspaper reporter husband died in the carnage.

“When I saw news of his death today, it was mixed emotions. I was happy that he’s dead, but sad because we have not gotten justice,” said the 46-year-old widow.

“I cannot accept that he died due to sickness, that he died before he can be convicted. He should have paid for his sins in jail,” said 41-year-old Merly Perante, who lost her husband, also a journalist.

“It is very difficult to forgive him. I leave it to the Lord to judge him,” she said.

“Money talks and money walks in our case,” Teodoro said, as she dared President Aquino to fulfill his promise of concluding the massacre trial before he steps down in June next year.

“I want to hear him say it, that he will help us find justice,” she said, referring to the President’s annual State of the Nation Address to Congress later this month.

 

Aquino understands frustration

Malacañang on Saturday assured the families of the Maguindanao massacre victims that the quest for justice would continue despite the death of Ampatuan Sr.

“The case will proceed, of course, against the other accused who remain alive,” said deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte.

“We understand their frustration. We also share their frustration at the pace,” Valte told the state-run Radyo ng Bayan.

But she said the Palace also understands that with the sheer number of accused and not all suspects having even been arrested, the pace of the legal proceedings would vary.

“The President recognizes the feelings of the families. That’s why the President has given strict orders to the prosecution under the executive to make sure that they remain vigilant against dilatory tactics or against delay,” she said.

She added that the President had told the government’s legal team that they should not be the reason for the delay of the case.

“However, we must also recognize that the verdict in this case will not be handed down by the President. It will be handed down by the presiding judge, so that is a reality that we have to live with as well,” Valte said. With reports from Nikko Dizon, Erika Sauler and AFP

 

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