DOJ slaps Ampatuan Jr. with 16 more murder charges
12/21/2009 | 07:12 PM
(Update: 2:30 a.m.) Sixteen more counts of murder charges have been slapped against Datu Unsay town mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr. who is being accused of masterminding the November 23 massacre in Maguindanao province.
In a text message to reporters on Monday, Leo Dacera III, the Department of Justice's senior state prosecutor, said the DOJ had amended its complaint before the Quezon City Regional Trial Court (RTC) – Branch 221 to supplement the 40 counts of murder charges that the agency initially filed against Andal Jr.
All in all, the DOJ has filed 56 counts of murder charges against Andal Jr. Authorities placed the number of fatalities at 57, although the last cadaver that had already undergone autopsy by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) has not yet been identified.
Andal Jr. is so far the lone accused before the trial court in connection with the massacre.
His father, clan patriarch and Maguindanao governor Andal Ampatuan Sr., brother Zaldy Ampatuan, and other members of the family are facing preliminary investigation proceedings for multiple murder before the DOJ.
However, the wheels of justice will not roll until the first week of January. The Supreme Court has ordered the Quezon City RTC to reset the first hearing of the multiple murder case against Andal Jr. to the first week of January. [See: Hearing of murder raps vs Andal Jr moved to January]
Jose Midas Marquez, chief of the Supreme Court’s public information office, said time constraints due to the onset of the Christmas holidays had prevented the court from setting the case for initial hearing and preparing the venue of the trial.
Judge Jocelyn Solis-Reyes of the Quezon City RTC Branch 221, who will hear the high-profile case, has already asked the PNP Non-Commissioned Officers Clubhouse to prepare its hall to meet the needs of the court in the conduct of the hearing early next year.
As this developed, the NBI said it would review its security policies following its failure to prevent Andal Jr. from being mobbed when he attended the preliminary investigation at the DOJ on Friday.
Regional Director Ricardo Diaz, chief of Counter Terrorism Division, said the NBI was still determining whether the mayor was intentionally hit in the forehead by a photographer while the accused was on his way out of the DOJ Action Center where the panel hearings were heard.
The photographer denied that it was intentional, claiming that he was accidentally pushed by other reporters who had wanted to interview Andal Jr.
Diaz, however, insisted that “adequate" protection was provided for Ampatuan Jr. in the preliminary hearing. [See: NBI provided Andal Jr. 'adequate' protection, spokesman insists]
“There were two groups of media who were there. One group was those who conducted a demonstration while the other group was those assigned to cover the preliminary investigation. But at that time, the demonstrators mixed with the media covering the beat," said Diaz.
Diaz said Ampatuan complained of last Friday’s “attack," but footage from the television was not clear on whether it was intentional or not.
Media group National Press Club, whose members were among the protesting journalists in the incident, said it is looking into the issue and promised to discipline its ranks should some members be found to have intentionally hurt Andal Jr. [See: NPC to CHR chief: Don't prejudge us in Andal Jr. issue]
Andal Jr.’s lawyer Philip Sigfrid Fortun meanwhile has also asked Reyes to cite in contempt of court Justice Secretary Agnes Devanadera and eight other prosecutors and NBI officials for bringing his client out of his detention cell without a court order. [See: Lawyer wants DOJ chief cited in contempt for ‘violating’ Andal Jr.’s rights] - GMANews.TV
In a text message to reporters on Monday, Leo Dacera III, the Department of Justice's senior state prosecutor, said the DOJ had amended its complaint before the Quezon City Regional Trial Court (RTC) – Branch 221 to supplement the 40 counts of murder charges that the agency initially filed against Andal Jr.
All in all, the DOJ has filed 56 counts of murder charges against Andal Jr. Authorities placed the number of fatalities at 57, although the last cadaver that had already undergone autopsy by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) has not yet been identified.
Andal Jr. is so far the lone accused before the trial court in connection with the massacre.
His father, clan patriarch and Maguindanao governor Andal Ampatuan Sr., brother Zaldy Ampatuan, and other members of the family are facing preliminary investigation proceedings for multiple murder before the DOJ.
However, the wheels of justice will not roll until the first week of January. The Supreme Court has ordered the Quezon City RTC to reset the first hearing of the multiple murder case against Andal Jr. to the first week of January. [See: Hearing of murder raps vs Andal Jr moved to January]
Jose Midas Marquez, chief of the Supreme Court’s public information office, said time constraints due to the onset of the Christmas holidays had prevented the court from setting the case for initial hearing and preparing the venue of the trial.
Judge Jocelyn Solis-Reyes of the Quezon City RTC Branch 221, who will hear the high-profile case, has already asked the PNP Non-Commissioned Officers Clubhouse to prepare its hall to meet the needs of the court in the conduct of the hearing early next year.
As this developed, the NBI said it would review its security policies following its failure to prevent Andal Jr. from being mobbed when he attended the preliminary investigation at the DOJ on Friday.
Regional Director Ricardo Diaz, chief of Counter Terrorism Division, said the NBI was still determining whether the mayor was intentionally hit in the forehead by a photographer while the accused was on his way out of the DOJ Action Center where the panel hearings were heard.
The photographer denied that it was intentional, claiming that he was accidentally pushed by other reporters who had wanted to interview Andal Jr.
Diaz, however, insisted that “adequate" protection was provided for Ampatuan Jr. in the preliminary hearing. [See: NBI provided Andal Jr. 'adequate' protection, spokesman insists]
“There were two groups of media who were there. One group was those who conducted a demonstration while the other group was those assigned to cover the preliminary investigation. But at that time, the demonstrators mixed with the media covering the beat," said Diaz.
Diaz said Ampatuan complained of last Friday’s “attack," but footage from the television was not clear on whether it was intentional or not.
Media group National Press Club, whose members were among the protesting journalists in the incident, said it is looking into the issue and promised to discipline its ranks should some members be found to have intentionally hurt Andal Jr. [See: NPC to CHR chief: Don't prejudge us in Andal Jr. issue]
Andal Jr.’s lawyer Philip Sigfrid Fortun meanwhile has also asked Reyes to cite in contempt of court Justice Secretary Agnes Devanadera and eight other prosecutors and NBI officials for bringing his client out of his detention cell without a court order. [See: Lawyer wants DOJ chief cited in contempt for ‘violating’ Andal Jr.’s rights] - GMANews.TV
