Prosecutors: Cops first to know of Ampatuan reso

Police in Mindanao were informed of Justice Secretary Alberto Agra’s decision to clear two Ampatuan clan members from the Nov. 23 Maguindanao massacre ahead of government prosecutors. Assistant Chief State Prosecutor Richard Anthony Fadullon disclosed this Tuesday as he continued to question the circumstances surrounding Agra’s controversial decision. "Isn’t it surprising our own office was not able to furnish us a copy and some other office in the province calls us up and tells us, ‘Sir totoo bang may resolution na ito’ (Is it not surprising that our own office was not able to furnish us a copy of the resolution, and we learned of it from some other office in the province when it verified the resolution with us)?" Fadullon said in an interview on dwIZ radio.

The revelation came a day after state prosecutors staged a walkout from their offices and openly questioned Agra’s decision to clear the two Ampatuan clan members. Fadullon also said they were completely surprised with Agra’s resolution, since he had asked relatives of the victims for added time the day before the resolution came out. “Hayaan ninyo aking susuriin at pagaaralan ang ebidensya dahil wala pa sa akin lahat (Give me time to review the evidence because I have not had a chance to do so)," he recalled Agra telling relatives of the victims at a meeting last Thursday. Government prosecutors were present at the meeting, Fadullon said. “Mahirap sa loob ng ilang linggong pagsusuri makarating tayo sa ganyang klaseng resolution. Ang ebidensya sa ganitong kasong ito [ay] kahon-kahon (We did not expect a resolution to come out in weeks. There are boxes of evidence to review)," Fadullon pointed out. 'Body language' Yet, he said the Philippine National Police Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (PNP-CIDG) office in General Santos City brought the matter to their attention. At the time, he said the PNP-CIDG asked to verify the resolution where Agra said there was no evidence that Zaldy and Akmad Ampatuan had conspired in the killings. "You can read the body language ano ang magiging outcome (on what the outcome would be). It is correct to say we were surprised," he said. "We did not expect it to be brought out Friday afternoon. We did not learn about the resolution from the DOJ. We heard about the resolution from communications made to us by the CIDG in General Santos. Nagtataka kami bakit kakailanganin bigyan sila ng kopya (We did not expect the resolution to come out Friday afternoon. And we did not learn about the resolution from the DOJ. We heard about the resolution from the CIDG in General Santos City. So we wonder why they had to be given a copy of the resolution ahead of us)," he added. Fadullon also pointed out that while he and his colleagues had been handling the massacre case since November, Agra came in only last February. "Hindi ordinaryong kaso ito, di isang tao [ang] namatay rito. Di lang sambayanang Pilipino ang nakatingin sa atin, pati ang international community tinitingnan paano natin hahawakan at i-handle ang case na ito (This is no ordinary case. Not just one person died here. And it is not just Filipinos who are keeping tabs on the case. The international community is closely watching how we handle it)," he said.
However, Fadullon said that despite the walkout, the prosecutors will continue to appear in hearings on the case, and in other cases they are handling. "We will continue to appear in the other cases for as long as we are authorized to do so ... We are attending to that, that’s what we assure the public," he said. Clear conscience Earlier on Monday, Agra said his conscience was clear, adding that he was not afraid to face the victims’ kin to defend his move. [See: Prosecutors defy Agra over order to clear 2 Ampatuans] "Anyway you look at the evidence presented to me, it will lead to the same decision," Agra said in Filipino in a radio interview. — LBG/RSJ, GMANews.TV