Ampatuan Jr. pleads not guilty to 15 more charges

(Updated 1:05 p.m.) Datu Unsay Mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr. on Wednesday maintained his innocence on the mass killing of 57 people in Maguindanao province last year. At the resumption of his multiple murder trial at Camp Crame, Andal Jr. entered a not guilty plea to 15 more murder charges slapped against him. The principal suspect in the massacre pleaded not guilty to 41 murder cases when he was first arraigned last January 5. (See: Andal Jr. pleads not guilty to multiple murder charges) In sum, 56 murder charges have been lodged against Ampatuan Jr. Other members of his clan are facing rebellion charges in connection with the November 23 mass slaughter. Mangudadatu cross-examined Following Wednesday's arraignment, witness Buluan town Vice Mayor Ismael "Toto" Mangudadatu was cross-examined by the defense panel led by lawyer Sigfrid Fortun. Mangudadatu, who lost his wife, Genalyn, two sisters, and other relatives in the massacre, took the witness stand last week. During the cross-examination, Fortun hit Mangudadatu’s absence at the massacre site, saying the vice mayor’s statement on his affidavits were mere opinions. "All these statements against the Ampatuans, despite your absence, are all your opinion?’ asked Fortun. To which, Mangudadatu answered in the affirmative. The vice mayor admitted he was only able to say that the Ampatuans were behind the abduction and killing of the massacre victims based on his last conversation with Genalyn, accounts of his relatives, the military, and the video footage of the crime scene. Mangudadatu also admitted that when he submitted his first affidavit on November 26 in General Santos City, he had not been to the killing fields at Sitio Masalay, Barangay (village) Salman in Ampatuan town. Mangudadatu also submitted another two-page affidavit before the Korondal Prosecutors’ Office on December 1, implicating not only Ampatuan Jr. but also several members of the Ampatuan clan. No first-hand account Fortun focused on Mangudadatu's admission that he did not have a first-hand account of the incident. Fortun asked Mangudadatu if it were easy for him to blame the Ampatuans just because they were powerful. Mangudadatu replied: "Eh kasi yun po ang nalalaman namin [na makapangyarihan ang mga Amptauan (It’s because we just know that the Ampatuans are powerful)." Fortun then questioned why Mangudadatu only sent emissaries to the crime site some five hours after learning that the convoy led by his wife had been waylaid at a checkpoint along the national highway. Fortun said it appeared that the incident did not call for urgency on Mangudadatu’s part. Mangudadatu replied that his relatives prevented him from going by himself to the crime scene because of lack of police and military security. After the cross-examination, Fortun asked Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 221 Jocelyn Solis Reyes to allow Ampatuan Jr. to be excused from the succeeding court proceedings on Wednesday. Reyes allowed Ampatuan Jr. to leave the makeshift courtroom at Camp Crame’s Police Non-Commissioned Officers Clubhouse. He was whisked from the courtroom at 11:15 a.m. Fortun said Ampatuan Jr.’s presence was no longer needed because the second witness to be presented by the prosecution would only present medico-legal examination results on the massacre victims. The proceedings are ongoing as of posting time. - with Sophia Dedace/RSJ/NPA, GMANews.TV