Zaldy Ampatuan's arraignment seen after latest SC ruling

The Supreme Court has denied with finality the request of former Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) governor Zaldy Ampatuan to be removed as a suspect in the Maguindanao massacre trial — a development that could finally lead to his arraignment. In a three-page resolution dated November 14, the court's Third Division denied "for lack of merit" Zaldy's second motion for reconsideration dated October 10 seeking explanation from the high court regarding the dismissal of his previous pleadings. The previous pleadings Zaldy was referring to were:

• His petition for review, which the Court of Appeals had denied, with the SC upholding the CA decision on June 25.
• His motion for reconsideration, which the high court also denied on August 15.

The denial of these two prompted Zaldy, a member of the powerful Ampatuan clan in Mindanao, to file his third and final pleading with the Supreme Court. In its latest ruling, the high court said it "treats petitioner's motion as a second motion for reconsideration." Sought for comment, private prosecutor Prima Jesusa Quinsayas from the group Freedom Fund for Journalists welcomed the Supreme Court ruling. "We will be making a reiteration [before QC Judge Jocelyn Solis-Reyes] that Zaldy should finally be arraigned because the last legal obstacle preventing his arraignment has already been removed," she said. Zaldy's motion In his motion, Zaldy claimed his right to due process has been prejudiced by the June 25 and August 15 resolutions by the Supreme Court. He said the court did not inform him of the facts and the law that were used as basis for the rulings. He further said that the decisions failed to comply with Section 14, Article VIII of the Constitution, which states that "[n]o decision shall be rendered by any court without expressing therein clearly and distinctly the facts and the law on which it is based. No petition for review or motion for reconsideration of a decision of the court shall be refused due course or denied without stating the legal basis therefore." The Supreme Court, however, disagreed with Zaldy's claim. "The Court denies petitioner's motion," it said. "There is no definite and stringent rule on how the Court will frame its judgment. It is settled that the Court has discretion to decide whether a 'minute resolution' should be used in lieu of a full-blowndecision in any particular case." The court also said there is no need for it to explain when it found no reversible error on a lower court's decision. It also noted that the facts and the laws were already discussed in the Court of Appeals decision. "The minute resolution... only means that the Court agrees with and/or adopts the findings and conclusions of the CA. The Court considers, therefore, the CA Decision as correct." The Supreme Court also stressed that a "resolution" is not considered a decision within the constitutional requirement of Section 14, Article VIII of the Constitution. "This constitutional mandate is applicable only in cases 'submitted for decision,' that is, where the petition is given due course and after the filing of the briefs or memoranda and/or other pleadings, but not where the petition is denied due course, with the resolution stating its legal basis," the SC said. A notice of the resolution, signed by SC Third Division Clerk of Court, Lucita Abjelina Soriano, has already been sent to the parties involved. GMA News Online is still trying to reach Zaldy's camp for his comment. The Court of Appeals last year junked a similar petition for review from Zaldy’s father, Andal Ampatuan Sr., leading to the clan patriarch’s arraignment on June 1, 2011. Also implicated in the crime is Zaldy’s brothers, Andal Jr. and Sajid. The Ampatuan clan members and their supposed private army were implicated in the massacre of 58 people, including more than 30 journalists, in Barangal Salman in Ampatuan, Maguindanao on November 23, 2009. The victims were part of an electoral convoy that was supposed to register then-Buluan town Vice Mayor Esmael Mangudadatu, a member of the Ampatuans' rival clan, to the 2010 gubernatorial election. Three years after the case, only two Ampatuan members — Andal Jr. and Andal Sr. — have been arraigned. The Philippine National Police has so far arrested 103 suspects, while 93 remain at large.   SC records showed that of the 103 arrested, only 81 have so far been arraigned. The multiple murder case was raffled to Judge Solis-Reyes on December 17, 2009. Hearings started on January 5, 2010. To date, there have been 264 hearings.   Handling the case for the prosecution are 35 lawyers—21 public and 14 private. On the defense camp, 54 lawyers are on board. A total of 57 accused have applied for bail.   In the three years that the prosecution has been presenting evidence, it has so far sent 101 witnesses to the stand.   Excluding oral motions, 307 motions and other matters have been filed or raised, of which 204 have been resolved. Almost two-thirds or 204 of them have already been resolved.   Also, 447 comments, oppositions, rejoinders, sur-rejoinders, and manifestations have been filed as a result of the 307 motions. Records of the case have reached 48 volumes. -- KBK, GMA News