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DOJ files 25 counts of murder vs Mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr.
(Updated 3:39 p.m.) The Department of Justice (DOJ) on Tuesday filed before a Cotabato City court 25 counts of murder against detained Datu Unsay Mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr. for being the primary suspect in the November 23 massacre in Maguindanao province where at least 57 civilians, including 30 journalists, were killed.
GMA News' Jun Veneracion said the panel of prosecutors led by Edilberto Jamora filed the charges before the Cotabato City Regional Trial Court Branch 15 past 11 a.m.
The case was immediately raffled to Branch 15 of the Cotabato RTC, in the sala of judge Melanio Guerrero of the Sultan Kudarat RTC, who has just been designated last Friday by Chief Justice Reynato Puno.
With tight security from the police and the military, the prosecution panel arrived at the local court, bringing with them two boxes of affidavits and other pieces of evidence against the respondents.
Aside from Andal Jr., some other "John Does" were included in the charge sheet. The prosecutors hope to identify the other suspects in the course of the investigation. [See: 3 witnesses tag Ampatuan Jr in Maguindanao massacre]
Jamora said the number of charges was based on the medical papers of 25 of the recovered bodies of the victims that have so far undergone "medical procedures."
Jamora assured that supplemental charges would be filed as soon as the medical papers of the rest of the 57 victims have been processed. [See: 11 witnesses to strengthen case vs massacre suspects]
In a press conference Tuesday, DOJ Secretary Agnes Devanadera said, "There are actually more than 25... kaya lang iyong complaining witnesses kailangan pang ma-establish ang statements nila (but we need to establish first the statements of the other witnesses) regarding the deaths."
The filing came more than a week after the massacre of members of a convoy led by relatives of gubernatorial aspirant and Buluan vice mayor Ismael "Toto" Mangudadatu. The victims were on their way to the provincial capitol of Shariff Aguak to file Toto's certificate of candidacy (COC) when they were blocked and eventually killed by around 100 armed men.
The Mangudadatus are the known political rivals of the Ampatuan clan, who are allied with President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.
Even some unsuspecting motorists who happened to stay close to the Mangudadatu convoy were also killed. Most of the dead were buried two kilometers away along a dirt road branching from the highway where they were intercepted by the attackers in Ampatuan town.
DOJ's Jamora said the "most crucial" evidence that could pin down Andal Jr. was Toto's affidavit, where he recounted how his wife Genalyn was still able to call him up to tell him that "Unsay," Andal Jr.'s nickname, stopped them on the road and slapped her.
In separate affidavits submitted to the Criminal Investigation and Detection Unit by two police officials linked to the incident, Andal Jr. was positively identified as among the group of armed men who stopped the Mangudadatu convoy last November 23.
Chief Inspector Sukarno Adil Dicay, head of the Ampatuan police, and Inspector Ariel Diongon said they were manning a checkpoint in Sitio Malating in Salman village at about 10 a.m. on the day of the incident when the convoy arrived.
At the same time, a group of about 100 armed men also appeared in the area, took over the convoy and led them to a hilly portion of the town some two kilometers from the road, where the victims were said to have been killed and buried.
Before leaving with their victims, the armed men also pointed guns at Dicay and his subordinates, and threatened to kill them if they intervened, according to the two policemen.
During Tuesday's filing, the prosecutors also moved for the issuance of a commitment order that would allow authorities to continue detaining Andal Jr. at the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) headquarters in Manila.
Transfer of hearing
Citing security concerns, the prosecutors said they would ask the court to transfer the trial to Metro Manila, the same report added.
Devanadera said she already got in touch with Chief Justice Reynato Puno regarding the case, even before she flew to Mindanao to subject Ampatuan to an inquest.
"I already wrote to Chief Justice Puno explaining the situation in Mindanao," she said in Filipino. "We don't see the hearings happening there in Cotabato City because the witnesses were reluctant to go to court there, fearing for their and their families' lives."
Alleged recording
On the alleged voice recording of the incident, Devanadera said her office has not yet received any piece of evidence connected to it.
"[But] I have reasons to believe that because of the volumes of information reaching us about that," she said.
Mangudadatu earlier claimed that he has in his possession a recorder that was retrieved by investigators in the crime scene. He said he had intentionally asked his wife to conceal the device inside her sock so that anything that might happen to them during the trip could be caught on tape.
Reports said the wife placed the device, which could accommodate hundreds of hours of recording time, in her sock right before the convoy left for Shariff Aguak.
Apart from Andal Jr., other members of the clan holding office include Maguindanao acting Gov. Sajid Ampatuan, Mamasapano Mayor Bahnarin Ampatuan, and Salibo Vice Mayor Datu Kanor Ampatuan.
At present, Andal Jr. is detained at the NBI head office in Manila. [See: NBI: Ampatuan earns ‘most hated’ title while in detention]
Military rule?
The entire provinces of Maguindanao and Sultan Kudarat, as well as Cotabato City, remain under a state of emergency.
President Arroyo has already given full supervisory powers to Interior Secretary Ronaldo Puno over the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM). Last week, Puno said he would see to it that all local officials in Maguindanao would be suspended and investigated about the massacre.
The group of armed civilians in Maguindanao has already been deactivated and was disarmed. All permits to carry firearms were also suspended indefinitely. At least six policemen were relieved due to the incident, even as the 20-man strong police force of the Ampatuan town was replaced. [See: Troops raid safehouse of arms used in Ampatuan massacre]
The military and police have also taken over the provincial capitol of Maguindanao, as well as the respective municipal halls of Shariff Aguak and Ampatuan. [See: AFP: No need for martial law in Maguindanao]
Relatives of the Ampatuan clan, led by Andal Jr.'s brother ARMM Governor Zaldy Ampatuan, have cried foul both for their expulsion from the administration party Lakas-Kampi-CMD and what he described as a "trial by publicity" that his brother has been getting.[See: Ampatuan kin cries foul over Lakas expulsion] - Mark Merueñas/RSJ/LBG/KBK, GMANews.TV
