Court junks rebellion raps vs Ampatuan patriarch, others

(Updated 6 p.m.) A Quezon City court on Monday ordered the release of several Ampatuan clan members, including its patriarch Andal Ampatuan Sr., after it found no probable cause to indict them for rebellion. Those ordered released were former Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) Governor Zaldy Ampatuan, Datu Akmad Tato Ampatuan, Datu Anwar Ampatuan and Datu Sajid Islam Ampatuan. "The court is convinced that there exists no probable cause to hold under detention and to indict the accused for rebellion," said Judge Vivencio Baclig of Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 77 in his 18-page order. The Ampatuans, a powerful political family in Central Mindanao, have been blamed for the massacre of 57 people, including 32 journalists, in Maguindanao province last November 23. On Dec. 4, 2009, Malacañang placed Maguindanao under martial rule to contain an armed uprising allegedly being plotted by the Ampatuans to prevent authorities from arresting them. The declaration was lifted after eight days after the arrest of the suspects. No evidence Baclig said the Department of Justice (DOJ) failed to provide evidence to support their claim of rebellion against the Ampatuans and hundreds of their supporters. "It is quite interesting that the prosecution failed to present any particular instance where the accused had directly or indirectly prevented government prosecutors from performing their job relative to the prosecution of the suspects in the infamous Maguindanao massacre," the order read. He added that the reported amassing of several armed caches by the Ampatuans "cannot be considered an act of rebellion." The court added that there was no documentary evidence submitted by the prosecution showing that private armed groups loyal to the Ampatuans were massing up to resist government authorities in case members of the clan are arrested.
To remain in detention Despite the release order, the accused will have to stay in detention because of the pending multiple murder case filed against them in connection with the massacre. Interviewed on dzBB radio, Justice Secretary Alberto Agra said QC-RTC Branch 221 Judge Jocelyn Solis-Reyes has a continued detention order against the accused. "Pero kung susundin ang order ni Judge Solis-Reyes dahil nga po ito ay already detained dapat po yung continued detention nito because there’s probable cause for the murder," Agra said. (Ampatuan Sr. should remain in detention because of his murder case as ordered by Judge Solis-Reyes.) Agra also said his department would either file a motion for reconsideration before Baclig’s sala or elevate the matter to the Court of Appeals. Ampatuan Sr. is under hospital arrest at the military’s Camp Panacan in Davao City in Mindanao. Saddened Lt. Gen. Raymundo Ferrer, head of the Eastern Mindanao Command and former martial law administrator in Maguindanao, was saddened over the junking of the rebellion case against the Ampatuans. Ferrer admitted that they knew even before they filed the rebellion complaint that they will have a hard time proving it. "Nakikita namin noon pa na ang rebellion ay napakahirap i-prove dahil (Even before, we have seen that it would hard to prove rebellion since) this is a political case unlike murder," he told radio dzBB in a separate interview. Malacañang, for its part, said it respects the Quezon City court’s decision. "Katulad ng dati whether ang desisyon ng korte ay favorable sa atin o hindi, ang maipapayo natin ay kailangan magpailalim sa discretion at kapangyarihan ng korte sa mga bagay na ganito," said deputy presidential spokesman Gary Olivar. (Just like before, whether the decision is favorable to us or not, we want everybody to respect the decision.) Asked if the court decision proves that the martial law declaration in the province has no basis, Olivar said Malacañang, during that time, did what it deemed best to address the situation. He added that what should be done now is to closely monitor the other cases against the suspects to ensure that justice would be served for the 57 massacre victims. — with Amita Legaspi/KBK/RSJ, GMANews.TV