Maguindanao massacre trial ends; verdict expected before 10th anniversary of killings

More than nine years after it started, trial in the 2009 Maguindanao massacre multiple murder case was finally completed last month, and the Department of Justice (DOJ) expects a court decision before the 10th anniversary of the infamous bloodbath rolls around in November.

Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said Thursday that the trial before the Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 221 ended last July 17.

The case will be considered submitted for resolution after the government and the accused submit their memorandum, or a written summation of arguments, on or before August 15, he said.

The Justice chief said the department expects "justice will finally be served" before Nov. 23, 2019, exactly 10 years after 58 people were massacred in Ampatuan town, Maguindanao in what is considered the worst incident of election-related violence in Philippine history.

The killing is also believed to be the single deadliest attack on journalists in the world. Thirty-two of the victims were members of the media who accompanied the camp of then-gubernatorial candidate Esmael "Toto" Mangudadatu in filing his certificate of candidacy.

Members of the Ampatuan family, including former Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao governor Zaldy Ampatuan and former Datu Unsay mayor Andal Ampatuan, Jr. are the primary accused in the multiple murder case.

As of last year, however, almost 70 of the 198 individuals wanted for the case remained at large.

Some of the alleged perpetrators have been dropped from the case and others have died, including Andal Ampatuan, Sr., the clan patriarch and the alleged mastermind of the crime, who died in 2015. — BM, GMA News