Kin of massacre victims want Agra sacked as Justice chief

(Update 4 – 6:39 p.m.) The families of the victims of the November 23 Maguindanao massacre on Wednesday said they would ask President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to remove Alberto Agra as Justice secretary if he does not reverse his decision clearing two major suspects. Lawyer Nena Santos, who represents families of 25 victims in the gruesome murders, said her clients could no longer allow Agra to meddle in the massacre case if he insists on standing by his ruling. "Kung magmamatigas siya [Agra] na hindi i-reverse ang resolution niya, mag-a-appeal kami officially kay Presidente... Hihilingin namin na tanggalin siya sa [Department of Justice] (If Secretary Agra will continue to stand by his decision, we will appeal to the President to have him sacked from the Department of Justice)," Santos told GMANews.TV. She said the group would also oppose any attempts by Agra to replace the panel of prosecutors handling the multiple murder case against several members of the powerful Ampatuan clan, some members of the Maguindanao police, and the clan’s armed supporters. Meanwhile, UNTV Channel 37 — whose four crew members were killed in the massacre — said that the decision "is another dark moment in the history of the Filipino people." Agra "terminated posthaste the cases against the two Ampatuans: A very simple and easy act of the pen but a horrible act of injustice to the victims," it said in an emailed statement. "In fact, by so doing, the Secretary had relinquished the very reason for existence and mandate of the Office he himself represents and even created a cloud of suspicion over the highest Office in the land for whom the Secretary is an alter-ego," the statement said. "This questionable act of Sec. Agra is plain and simple blunder on his part. However, in the deepest sense, it is also a blunder of the Department of Justice which the Secretary represents, and in fact, but ultimately, the resounding effect will traverse to the Office of the President of the Republic of the Philippines, to whom the Secretary is directly responsible to." For its part, the Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines reiterated its "call for swift and impartial delivery of justice to the victims of the November 23 massacre, their suffering loved ones and the media community which has been wronged by this most sordid crime." "It is the Philippine government's fundamental responsibility to ensure that delivery of justice is not delayed or derailed for whatever reason, given the sheer magnitude of this dastardly crime," the group said in a statement. "Any attempt to derail justice is criminal obstruction of due process that is punishable under our laws. Such a move will leave one of the blackest marks in the country's judicial system." Agra told to ensure evidence wasn’t overlooked In Malacañang, Executive Secretary Leandro Mendoza ordered Agra to confer with prosecutors to determine if any important evidence had been overlooked when his controversial ruling was made. “Then the Secretary of Justice should publicly justify the final decision," Mendoza said. The prosecutors earlier walked out of the DOJ building to manifest their displeasure in Agra’s April 17 order absolving Zaldy Ampatuan and cousin Akmad Ampatuan Sr. The prosecutors said that they were not consulted before Agra released the order. For his part, another Palace official said that President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo respects the actions of her Cabinet members, including Agra. “The Secretary of Justice as head of department is solely responsible for the decision of his own department, of course, in consultation in coordination with the prosecutors in the department," Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Raul Victorino said. The ruling is not even final and could be appealed, he said. “We sympathize with the plight of the victims and all concerned but this must be addressed to court of justice," he added. "The case is pending before the Regional Trial Court and now heard through Justice (Jocelyn) Reyes. Any motion to suspension of the proceeding must be addressed to the court. It is only the court who will decide whether the proceedings will be suspended or not." Moreover, allowing Agra to replace the panel of prosecutors handling the massacre case would be too much, Santos said after the trial resumed at Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig on Wednesday. During the hearing, Judge Jocelyn Solis-Reyes noted the manifestation of lawyer Harry Roque, lawyer of the families of 13 journalists slain in the massacre, asking the court to defer the proceedings until July, when newly elected government officials assume their posts. Saying they have "lost trust in Agra," Roque said they feared that the Justice Secretary might clear the suspects in the massacre one by one before Mrs. Arroyo leaves her post on June 30. Santos shared Roque’s sentiment. "We also don’t trust Agra, but we have full trust in the public prosecutors." She also said they would seek the disbarment of Agra for incompetence. Motion for reconsideration But the private lawyers’ plans to have Agra taken out of the DOJ or disbarred will have to wait pending resolution of their motion for reconsideration, which the prosecution plans to file on Thursday. "We still have to see if Agra will insist on executing his order," Roque said. Santos said Agra erred when he ordered that two Ampatuans be stricken off the charge sheet, saying he did so without first resolving a pending motion for the Justice secretary to inhibit himself from the multiple murder case. Santos said they filed the motion for inhibition last April 6 after seeing Agra announce on national television that charges against Zaldy should be dropped. "That’s pre-judgment. He said that on TV days before he released the official order to clear the Ampatuans," she said, adding Agra had abused his power by ignoring a pending motion and coming out with the questioned ruling.
During Wednesday’s hearing, security was tight at Camp Bagong Diwa, the new venue for the trial heard by Branch 221 of the Quezon City Regional Trial Court. Eleven suspects — nine policemen and two members of the Civilian Volunteer Organization (CVO) — pleaded not guilty to 57 counts of murder. (See: 11 suspects in Maguindanao massacre enter not guilty plea) The arraignment of four other suspects was deferred pending a move for the determination of probable cause. The suspects entered the make-shift courtroom at around 9:10 a.m., wearing yellow and orange shirts, and handcuffed to security personnel. Only 15 of the more than 190 people indicted for multiple murder showed up for the arraignment. The others, including five members of the Ampatuan clan, still had pending petitions for review. - LBG/KBK/RSJ/NPA, RJAB Jr., GMANews.TV