Ampatuan camp: No settlement offers to massacre victims' kin

The camp of the Ampatuan family linked to the Nov. 23 massacre of 57 people in Maguindanao province on Thursday denied that they are offering out-of-court settlements to relatives of the victims. Philip Pantojan, lawyer of the Ampatuan family members facing murder charges for the massacre, said he would not have advised his clients to take such action as it would indicate “guilt." “On my side I never did that, I never advised my client. It’s a sign of guilt [in] criminal cases," Pantojan said in an interview on dzXL radio. He said the supposed reports on the settlement may have stemmed from some complainants having doubts about the guilt of his clients. “Siguro sa trial nakitang may punto ang sinasabi ni Attorney Fortun. Dito siguro nag-umpisa sinabi na we are trying to make settlement with the complainant," he said. (Perhaps during the trial some of the complainants saw the points made by defense lawyer Sigfrid Fortun. This may have triggered the claims of settlement offers.) Outgoing Justice Secretary Agnes Devanadera, on the other hand, said relatives of most of the victims in the massacre are not keen on accepting such offers. Devanadera, in a separate interview on dzXL, said she has talked to relatives of the victims, and most of them remain determined to seek justice. “Sa aking pakikipagusap sa [kaanak ng] biktima, naninindigan sila. Di nila ibebenta ang kanilang pakikipaglaban," she said. (From my talks with the relatives of the victims, they are standing by their quest for justice. They will refuse to sell their cause.) On Wednesday, Devanadera said the government may put up funds for relatives of victims of the Maguindanao massacre to prevent them from entering into out-of-court settlements with the defendants. She said her office is verifying reports that some relatives of massacre victims have already entered settlements with the Ampatuan clan in exchange for dropping murder charges. - KBK, GMANews.TV