Ampatuan scouts for new lawyer

Former Datu Unsay Mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr. FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines–One of the primary accused in the Maguindanao massacre case, Datu Andal Ampatuan Jr., has asked the court for a seven-day extension to secure a new lawyer.

Judge Jocelyn Solis-Reyes of the Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 221 granted the request during Wednesday’s hearing in Camp Bagong Diwa, Taguig City.

“Our resources are being depleted because we’ve been paying for the cost of litigation for five years now and we cannot afford the acceptance fee being asked by some lawyers we talked to,” Andal Jr. wrote in Filipino.–Erika Sauler