SC: Maguindanao massacre case close to resolution

After seven years, the Maguindanao massacre case is close to resolution, with only a few major issues left to be resolved, the Supreme Court said on Wednesday.

In a media briefing paper, the high court cited three major issues left for Branch 221 of the Regional Trial Court of Quezon City to resolve.

The bail application of accused Andal Ampatuan Jr. and his trial. (The court has already resolved the bail applications of the other 69 accused).

The resolution of the remaining formal offer of evidence of the defense.

Conclusion of the defense’s presentation of evidence.

Defense’s turn

“It is now the turn of the defense to present its evidence-in-chief. After all of the parties have rested, these murder cases would then be submitted for the decision of the court,” the Supreme Court said.

It said the Quezon City court would start hearing the second batch of accused, consisting of 45 people, on their formal offer of evidence on Jan. 19.

The case originally had 197 people accused, 15 of them surnamed Ampatuan. Only 114 have been arraigned and of these only 106 remained on trial.

The Supreme Court noted that four of the accused had died, including former Maguindanao Gov. Andal Ampatuan Sr., who died in detention.

Case status

In the last seven years, the Quezon City court has heard 232 witnesses—131 for the prosecution, 58 for private complainants, and 43 for the defense.

Nearly 50 lawyers were “actively involved” in the case, including 12 lawyers for the third panel of public prosecutors, seven private prosecutors, and 27 defense lawyers/firms actively attending the proceedings.

117 volumes

These legal teams have amassed 53 volumes of stenographic notes and 117 volumes of case records.

Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II assured the relatives of the victims that he would “do all that we can to make the wheels of justice turn faster not only in this case but in other cases.”

“We pray that those who are left behind will not only get the justice that they deserve but that they may find the grace to pick up the shattered pieces of their lives,” Aguirre said in a statement.

End to impunity

A human rights watchdog and families of the victims of the 2009 massacre of 58 people, half of them journalists, have criticized the fact that no one has been convicted in one of the worst mass killings in the country’s history.

Some of the relatives and journalists marched on Malacañang on Wednesday to call for an end to impunity on the seventh anniversary of the killings.

Amnesty International expressed disappointment that two consecutive administrations have failed to provide effective and swift justice for the victims and their families.

It said it had yet to see President Duterte’s genuine commitment to protect press freedom beyond mere rhetoric.

The victims included 32 journalists, making the election-related killings the world’s largest single attack on journalists. —WITH A REPORT FROM AP