9 years later, 70 accused in Ampatuan massacre still at large

Almost 70 individuals wanted for the killing of 58 people in Ampatuan town, Maguindanao in 2009 remain at large nine years after the gruesome multiple murders, regarded as the worst case of election-related violence in Philippine history.

Prosecutors expect a partial judgment covering the primary accused — including Andal Ampatuan, Jr. — as the court handling the cases nears a formal wrap-up of proceedings, said lawyer Gilbert Andres of the Center for International Law, which represents the families of the massacre victims.

Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra earlier said the Department of Justice expects the Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 221 to render judgment next year. The promulgation date has not yet been set.

Andres said 198 individuals were accused of involvement in the Nov. 23, 2009 attack that is also considered the single deadliest attack on journalists.

Thirty-two of the 58 victims were members of the media who accompanied the camp of then gubernatorial candidate Esmael "Toto" Mangudadatu in filing his certificate of candidacy.

Nine years later, some of the alleged perpetrators have been dropped from the case, and others have died, Andres said Thursday. Andal Ampatuan, Sr., the clan patriarch and the alleged mastermind of the crime, died in 2015.

200 or 20 years?

Judge Jocelyn Solis-Reyes had earlier allowed 42 policemen-suspects and Andal Ampatuan Sr.'s son Sajid to post bail, each set at P11.6 million. Only Sajid was able to afford to come up with the amount and he gained temporary freedom in March 2015.

One of the 42 policemen allowed to post bail had already died, two years before the grant, in 2012 after jumping off the building where his detention cell was located.

By 2011, two years after the killing, more than 100 suspects were still at large. Two year later, the number went down to 88 suspects. In 2014, only four other suspects had been collared.

A senator once commented that the trial could take 200 years due to the sheer number of accused, but prosecutors placed the number at around 20 years. The judge, herself, said in 2013 she would try to resolve the case before the term of former President Benigno Aquino III ended in 2016, something which she failed to do.

Quite a challenge

The number of the accused and the need for a pre-trial each time one is arrested, as well as changing defense lawyers, have contributed to the slow pace of the case, Andres said.

"It has been quite a challenge," the lawyer said of the presentation of evidence.

"Kaya panawagan natin sa Philippine National Police at sa DILG na hulihin na po 'yung 70 accused who are still at large para po talagang magkaroon ng complete trial for all the accused in the Maguindanao massacre," he said.

If Solis-Reyes convicts the suspects, they can still elevate the decision to the Court of Appeals, and eventually the Supreme Court. Andres said the prosecution is "prepared for any eventuality."

The relatives of some of the massacre victims trooped to the National Museum in Manila on Thursday — as a "form of healing and self-reflection" — to reiterate their call for justice for their loved ones, saying they await the court's decision on Ampatuan, Jr. "with cautious hope." 

"More than a guilty verdict, we pray for a judgment that will bring a sense of humanity into this dark and regrettable incident," they said in a prepared statement.

Andres said what is important for the families is that evidence has been presented against the accused who have been arrested and tried.

"As to what will happen, we just leave it really, eventually to providence and to our courts of justice. We leave it up to God because we can only do so much, and the rest we leave up to God," he said.

Presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo, meanwhile, said the Department of Justice is doing its "level best to speedy up the prosecution of the case."

"We’re not surprised that the wheels of justice in this country grind so slow," Panelo said at a news conference. 

"Many cases take so long, but what is important to us is justice will prevail – rule of law will have to be observed regardless of who are the persons are involved in any particular case."

Panelo, who once served as lawyer for the Ampatuans in the massacre case, said the court "will always rule on the basis of evidence."

"That has been the rule and that has been the training of all lawyers," he said. — with Virgil Lopez/MDM/RSJ, GMA News