Ampatuan submits formal offer of evidence for Maguindanao massacre case

The camp of former Datu Unsay, Maguindanao mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr., who is accused of being the mastermind behind the 2009 Maguindanao massacre, filed its formal offer of evidence last week.

According to Manny Vargas' report on Super Radyo dzBB on Sunday, among the pieces of evidence submitted to the Quezon City Regional Trial Court (RTC) was the minutes of a meeting held in the municipal hall of Datu Unsay on November 23, 2009—the day when the Maguindanao massacre was committed.

The former mayor's camp claims that he attended the meeting from 8 a.m. until 12:30 in the afternoon, eliminating the chances of his presence at the massacre.

Kampo ni dating Datu Unsay, Maguindanao Mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr., naghain ng formal offer of evidence sa hukuman kaugnay sa paglilitis ng Quezon City RTC sa 2009 Maguindanao Massacre. | via @VargasMannysen

— DZBB Super Radyo (@dzbb) November 11, 2018

Affidavits of some eyewitnesses for Ampatuan Jr. were also submitted by his camp.

The trial began on Jan. 5, 2010.

On June 19, President Rodrigo Duterte instructed government prosecutors to push for a partial resolution of the cases connected with the Maguindanao massacre.

Two days later, Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said he expects to finish the criminal trial this year.

“We believe that we can wind up the trial of the case this year and we’re hoping that by 2019 a decision will be rendered by the court,” he said.

Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 221 junked Ampatuan's bail petition on May 31, 2017 and his subsequent appeal on June 16, 2017.

Tagged as the worst case of election-related violence in Philippine history and even the single deadliest assault on journalists in the world, the Maguindanao massacre involves the murder of 58 people, including 32 journalists and some family members of then-Buluan town vice mayor Esmael "Toto" Mangudadatu.

Mangudadatu was the political rival of Ampatuan Jr. in the province's gubernatorial race in 2010. — Dona Magsino/BM, GMA News