Ampatuan camp denies bribery accusation

A lawyer for an Ampatuan family member on Thursday denied that his client offered as much as P300 million to have the charges against some members of the powerful clan dropped in connection with last year’s Maguindanao massacre. Howard Calleja, the legal counsel for Zaldy Ampatuan, said his client has no reason to bribe Maguindanao Gov. Esmael “Toto" Mangudadatu because he was not involved in the massacre of at least 57 people in a remote part of Ampatuan town on Nov. 23 last year. "We do not have a motive, a capacity, and resources to resort to bribery because if you are innocent, why would you do such?" Calleja said. Zaldy is the suspended governor of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) Mangudadatu, whose wife and two sisters were among those killed in the carnage, had claimed that an emissary of Zaldy Ampatuan had called him several times to offer him cash in exchange for the dropping of charges against members of the family linked to the crime. The Mangudadatus and the Ampatuans are rival clans in Maguindanao. Zaldy’s brother, Andal Ampatuan Jr., a former mayor of Datu Unsay town, was tagged as the primary suspect in the massacre. Calleja said Mangudadatu's bribe try allegations were "baseless and self-serving." He also said Zaldy was implicated in the multiple murder case "not because of any act but because of his relation [to other accused]." "We also seek justice for Zaldy, the same manner as the [families of the victims]," he said. Zaldy has a pending motion with the Court of Appeals seeking to overturn former Justice Sec. Alberto Agra’s reversal of his controversial order clearing the suspended governor from the charges. "We were just quietly waiting for the decision of the Court of Appeals," Calleja said. He belied the claims of a witness that Zaldy was among those who planned the massacre in a series of meetings on November 17 and 22 last year. Lakmudin Saliao, a long-time helper of the Ampatuans who claimed that he was present in the two meetings, had testified that Zaldy volunteered to fly to Manila before the massacre took place to avoid attracting suspicion. Calleja said Zaldy was in Davao City on November 22, the day of one of the supposed meetings. Despite Mangudadatu’s accusation, Calleja said they would not take legal actions against the Maguindanao governor, adding that they would just wait for the CA resolution before planning their next move. “Anybody can make allegations against anybody. If a party claims something about bribery, it remains an allegation," he said. He also said the suspended ARMM governor will never turn into a state witness, adding, "How can you become a witness when you didn't witness the meetings?" — Mark Dalan Merueñas/KBK/RSJ, GMANews.TV