Duterte wants swift settlement of Maguindanao massacre cases

President Rodrigo Duterte wants government prosecutors to get a ruling this year for some of the cases involving the 2009 Maguindanao Massacre.

Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said the President ordered the prosecution panel to work hard to get a partial judgment from a Quezon City court against some of the 197 accused.

“The President has instructed the prosecution panel to do its best to get partial judgment against some of the accused within the year,” said Roque on Tuesday.

In a press briefing in Cotabato City, Roque noted, “That is the marching order of the President when he conferred with the prosecution panel and we hope to do that.”

The trial of the 2009 Maguindanao massacre is being heard by Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 221 Judge Jocelyn Solis-Reyes.

Of the 197 accused, 115 have been arrested for the murders of 58 people, which included journalists, lawyers, and political supporters.

The defense is currently presenting its evidence in the trial, with Andal Ampatuan Jr. as the primary accused in the ghastly massacre.

Roque, prior to his stint as a lawmaker, served as one of the private prosecutors of one of the journalists’ families and helped gather evidence for the trial.  /vvp