SC affirms acquittal of Datu Akmad Ampatuan in Maguindanao massacre case

The Supreme Court has affirmed the acquittal of Datu Akmad "Tato" Ampatuan Sr. in the Maguindanao massacre case.

Although Ampatuan, son-in-law of the late Ampatuan patriarch Andal Sr., attended the meetings where the murder was plotted and even pledged his support, the SC First Division decided that he did not carry out any actions that advanced the plot.

“For purposes of conspiracy, an act is considered overt if it is done in furtherance thereof, i.e., if it promotes, advances, or facilitates the progress of the conspiratorial plan,” the SC said.

“Statements made in agreement with the plot should be distinguished from those made in furtherance thereof. Mere approval or acquiescence is not tantamount to furtherance and is not sufficient to convict,” it added.

The SC said that evidence of the actual commission of an unlawful act is required.

“Datu Akmad’s approval could hardly be said to be indispensable. Even without it, the plan would still have been carried out,” it said.

The SC said that the prosecution failed to prove that Ampatuan exerted moral ascendancy over the conspirators so as to move them to execute the conspiracy.

As the son-in-law of Andal Sr., one of the principal accused, Ampatuan is exempt from liability even if he could be deemed an accessory to the crime, it added, citing Article 20 of the Revised Penal Code.

“This by no means signifies his innocence. Rather, the law acknowledges that blood ties and the preservation of one's family name compel one to conceal crimes committed by relatives so near as those mentioned in the article,” it said.

The decision, penned by Associate Justice Ricardo Rosario, was promulgated in January and made public in August. –VBL, GMA Integrated News