Ampatuan arraignment must wait another day

MANILA, Philippines—Justice will have to wait another day.

The much-expected arraignment of Andal Amptuan Sr., the former governor of Maguindanao, in the infamous Maguindanao massacre case did not push through on Wednesday.

However, Judge Jocelyn Solis-Reyes promised that she would rule on the various motions and comments before her, and have Andal Sr. and other suspects arraigned “not later than Friday.”

Many had expected that Andal Sr. would be arraigned on Wednesday after his own lawyers formally asked the court last week for his arraignment.

“We are disappointed but we are also hopeful because Judge Reyes has said that she would come out with her ruling,” said Gov. Esmael Mangudadatu, whose wife was one of the massacre victims.

“We want to see the most powerful man in our area, one of the most powerful men in the country, in handcuffs,” he said, referring to Andal Sr.

Of the 196 suspects in the massacre—the bloodiest election-related incident in the country that left at least 57 victims dead—only 79 have been arrested and only 56 arraigned.

Of the remaining 23 suspects still to be arraigned, five are members of the Ampatuan clan—Andal Sr., Zaldy, Anwar, Akmad and Sajid.

Mangudadatu and his brothers Khadaffy (a member of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao Assembly), Sajid (mayor of Pandag, Maguindanao), Ibrahim (mayor of Bulusan, Maguindanao), and Freddie (mayor of Mangudadatu, Maguindanao) were all present at Wednesday’s hearing.

“We took the last flight from Davao (on Tuesday night) and arrived (in Manila) at 2 a.m. because the plane was delayed. We wanted to be here for the arraignment,” Mangudadatu said.

After only two hours of sleep, the Mangudadatu brothers woke up at 4 a.m. for the traditional Muslim early morning prayer.