Like anyone else, Judge Solis-Reyes wants an end to Maguindanao massacre case

If you asked her, she herself would say that she wanted the Maguindanao murder trial to be over.

This wish did not come from a victim's relative, nor did it come from one of the 196 suspects. It came from Quezon City Judge Jocelyn Solis-Reyes, who has been presiding over the trial, one of the biggest in Philippine history, for almost four years now.

Much has been written about the trial possibly dragging on for 20 years (as one prosecutor estimated) to 200 years (as one lawmaker had said). Lawyer Harry Roque Jr., legal counsel for some of the victims' families, had estimated the trial at the regional court level would take 16 years at the rate things were going.

But Reyes said she has been doing everything in her capacity as the regional trial court judge of Branch 221 to expedite the multiple murder trial, without compromising any of the parties' rights. She thus finds the accusations of sluggishness unwarranted.

"Iyong mga nagsasabi na mabagal ang trial, ni hindi ko sila nakikita sa hearing. Nakikita ba nila ang bawat hearing? Nakikita ba nila ang mukha ko, ang mukha ng mga witnesses," said Reyes, who agreed to a rare interview with GMA News Online provided that merits of the case would not be discussed.

She added that those who normally complain about the snail-paced trial are those "who do not know the [court] process."

Reyes pointed to a nearby shelf that was filled with folder upon folder of documents. "71 volumes na lahat iyan, oh. Paano nila sasabihing mabagal o walang nangyayari sa kaso."

Each "volume" or folder, she said, contained all the petitions, motions, manifestations, resolutions, and evidence filed in the four-year trial. When stacked on top of one another, the pile would measure almost 12 feet high.

The stack did not even include transcripts of record, as well as notices and other court documents that originated from the Supreme Court and Court of Appeals, which one way or another have handled Ampatuan-related petitions as well.

Milestone

To say that not much has happened in the four years that the case has been tried is not entirely accurate.

A significant milestone for 2013 was the conversion of one suspect, former Sultan sa Barongis Vice Mayor Sukarno Badal, into a state witness.

This was the first and, so far, the only time that a suspect had been allowed by the court to turn against his fellow accused.

And testifying against his once co-accused cannot be an easy task, especially when some witnesses end up dead and some of the accused belong to one of the most powerful political clans in southern Philippines.

These clan members, led by its patriarch Andal Ampatuan Sr., were accused of mobilizing their private army to kill 58 people, including 32 journalists. The victims were part of a convoy that was supposed to register then Buluan Vice Mayor Esmael Mangudadatu, an Ampatuan rival in the gubernatorial race for the 2010 automated polls.

They were said to have been stopped at a checkpoint at Sitio Masalay in Barangay Salman, Ampatuan town and gunned down by armed men allegedly led by the Ampatuans.

Mangudadatu eventually won as governor.

Wheels of justice

Despite some witnesses dying and supposed bribe offers in favor of the suspects, the trial has never ceased with its three times-a-week hearings.

This is unusually frequent, as trial dates in regular cases are usually weeks, if not months, apart.

According to Reyes, the murder trial was still "on track" to be resolved before President Benigno Aquino III ends his term in 2016, less than three years away.

"Sana, sana malapit na ito matapos. Hopefully," she said. "Bakit patatagalin pa ito, 'di ba? Eh, siyempre everybody wants this to end already. Mahirap talaga."

"Ako man, gusto ko na nga matapos ito."

This desire to expedite the case's resolution had long been echoed by the families of the victims, as well as human rights and media groups, which always made it a point to commemorate the massacre's anniversary, either through massive protests or prayer vigils.

Reyes admitted that while she appreciated this kind of mass activities, proceedings at her sala would go on even without them.

"Kahit may ingay o wala, the wheels of justice will turn. Tuluy-tuloy iyan. That is our duty," Reyes said. "Hindi naman makakaapekto iyan sa akin. I will just be looking at the evidence."

Reyes said the prosecution was almost finished presenting its witnesses and could soon rest its case by year's end, or early next year.

"After nila mag-rest ng case, the defense will have a chance to refute the prosecution's evidence. Pero hindi na iyon aabutin na kasing tagal ng sa prosecution. Yung iba pa diyan ia-adopt na lang ang evidence," said the  judge.

Aside from turning branch 221 into a special court handling Maguindanao massacre-related cases, other measures instituted to speed up the trial include allowing the use of judicial affidavits in the civil aspect of the case, in place of usually lengthy direct examination of witnesses.

Hearings are also held at least three times a week: Wednesdays and Thursdays for the trial proper, and Mondays when only motions and manifestations are heard.

But Roque said he is still not being totally satisfied with the progress of the trial. He said his camp had already suggested to the court a way to somehow cut down the time they have to wait for the case to be resolved.

"Nagkaroon kami ng 'first in, first out' (system na suggestion). Wala namang requirement na kailangan isa-isahin ang pagtapos ng kaso," said Roque, proposing that the court should resolve the multiple murder case against the 196 accused in batches, depending on who among them finishes presenting evidence first.

(Around 40 of the suspects have no longer applied for bail, while the remaining 60 like principal suspect Andal Ampatuan Jr did apply, making proceedings for the latter's cases much longer.)

Roque said the court ended up rejecting his camp's proposal.

"Ibinasura  ng Korte. (Pero) tanong ko sa kanila, ano naman ang repormang gagawin nila? Ang amin lang sa loob ng four years, ang status hindi katanggap-tanggap. Naghihintay lang kami ng counter proposal dahil ang amin ay ibinasura nila," he said.

Roque's camp was not the only party that had reservations about how Reyes is handling the case. Public prosecutors and even the defense had asked seven times Reyes to recuse or inhibit herself from the case for alleged bias. She had junked most of them, while she has yet to rule on the remaining.

Several groups have likewise appealed for a speedy resolution, like the Canada-based IFEX, a global network of 90 independent organizations worldwide that aim to expose free expression violations.

The group earlier put up an online petition calling on the Philippine government to improve the rule of law, through improved witness protection, increased police resources,and a review of court rules and regulations that allow undue delays in the conduct of trials, among others, to end impunity in journalists’ murders in the country. 

45 percent

Apart from the pace of the trial, relatives of the victims also complained that four years after the killings, authorities have yet to arrest 88 of the 196 suspects. This year alone, authorities managed to arrest just eight suspects.

"Nandiyan ang fact [na] ang pulis, hindi nag-imbestiga ng tama. Ang piskal hindi nakipag-usap ng maayos sa imbestigador," said Atty. Roque on Thursday's episode of GMA News TV's "News To Go".

"Saka iyong kabiguan ng kapulisan na hulihin lahat. Pag may nahuli, bagong arraignment, pre-trial at ebidensya."

Roque pointed out that 45 percent of the suspects remain free.

"Nagtitiwala lang kami sa Panginoon para ang pamilya namin mabigyan ng pag-asa na makamit ang hustisya kahit sa edad ko na senior citizen na." said Nene Gatchalian, a relative of one victim, in the "News To Go" episode.

"Sabi ko bago ako mamamatay, kailangan mabigyan conviction ang kaso,"

And what's next for Judge Reyes after she makes what would definitely become a landmark ruling?

"After this, I want to retire na," sighed Reyes.

But until that happens, the judge was completely focused on the case. One of Reyes' staff claimed there would be occasions when the judge would continue working after office hours, poring over voluminous records while her staff headed home.

"I don't even have time to watch the news," Reyes exclaimed.

But the judge does find time for her family. "Pero may time pa ako for other things. There is always a time for other things. God finds a way." — DVM/LBG/KG, GMA News