More agents to secure Andal Jr in 2nd hearing

The rough treatment given by journalists to massacre suspect Andal Ampatuan Jr. will not happen again as more security agents would be on hand to secure him if he attends the second preliminary investigation on the case on Monday. “Naka-ready tayo ngayon. Mas marami ang ipapadalang [National Bureau of Investigation] agents para makipag-ugnayan sa pulis para sa crowd control," Justice Secretary Agnes Devanadera said in an interview on dzBB radio. (We are ready this time. We will send more National Bureau of Investigation agents who will coordinate with police for crowd control.) During the preliminary hearing last December 18, Andal Jr. -- prime suspect in the massacre of at least 57 people, including 31 journalists, in Maguindanao province last November 23 -- was mobbed by irate media men while on his way to the venue. He even suffered a concussion near his right eye when he was allegedly hit by a camera. Andal Jr., the mayor of Datu Unsay town in Maguindanao, is a scion of the powerful Ampatuan clan. Other members of the family are also implicated in the mass murder, as well as in an alleged attempt to mount a rebellion in the province to prevent their arrest. In a radio interview last Friday, Devanadera said they would spend the Christmas holidays fine-tuning the media arrangements for Monday's continuation of the preliminary investigation. “We are ironing out kinks in media arrangements. We want to avoid a repeat of what happened last time, without getting too restrictive," she told dzXL radio last Friday. Nearly 700 suspects are expected to attend the preliminary investigations for rebellion and multiple murder charges on Monday, Devanadera said. The DOJ will hold two preliminary hearings related to the massacre – one for the murder case at 9:30 a.m., and another for the rebellion case at 1 p.m., she said. “This way, common respondents in both cases don’t have to go back and forth from the DOJ," she said in the dzXL interview. Under the new arrangement, only government-run television will be allowed inside the venue of the hearing, with private stations allowed to hook up to it. She said there would also be screens set up near the venue so other media can monitor the proceedings. A press briefing is scheduled after the hearing. - KBK, GMANews.TV