Loved ones welcome home acquitted personalities from Maguindanao massacre

After spending several years in detention, some of the accused who have been acquitted from the Maguindanao massacre case were finally reunited with their loved ones again.

According to a report by GMA News' Bam Alegre on Unang Balita on Friday, some relatives of the persons who have been absolved from multiple murder charges were spotted waiting outside Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig on Thursday night.

Judge Jocelyn Solis-Reyes ordered the jail warden of the Quezon City Jail Annex, located inside the camp, to release the 56 who were found to be innocent after she handed down the landmark decision for a total of 101 accused under trial.

It was by around 12 midnight on Friday that seven acquitted were seen exiting the camp, finally leaving behind a heavy chapter in their lives and turning over a new leaf.

They said that they were grateful for the court decision which proved their innocence in the carnage that transpired in November 2009.

Several members of the Ampatuan clan were given a guilty verdict along with other accused. They were sentenced to reclusion perpetua without parole. — Dona Magsino/RSJ, GMA News