Massacre victims’ relatives in legal limbo, lawyer says

Even as they plan on their next moves, relatives of victims of the Nov. 23 Maguindanao massacre have found themselves in a legal limbo, one of their lawyers admitted Thursday. In a radio interview, lawyer Harry Roque Jr. said the victims can neither go forward with the case because of motions filed by the suspects' lawyers, nor defer the case as government prosecutors want to go on with it. "Nais namin i-postpone ang proceedings hanggang dumating ang bagong administrasyon, pero di mangyari dahil may pagtututol sa piskal, ang piskal gusto isulong ang kaso. Pero sangkatutak ang petition for review at ibang hadlang ang nilagay ng Ampatuan. Kahapon ang mga biktima hindi talaga alam kung saan lalagay, di pwede ma-defer at di pwede masulong," Roque said in an interview on dwIZ radio. (We wanted to defer the case and wait for the next administration to come in, government prosecutors, however, insisted on pursuing the case. But Ampatuans’ lawyers have effectively stalled the case with several motions for review. The victims do not know what to do because they can neither defer nor push through with the case). "Either way kawawa ang biktima (Either way, the victims end up the losers)," he added. He blamed Malacañang for the mess, insisting there was no way it could not have known of Justice Secretary Alberto Agra’s decision to clear two Ampatuan clan members from the case. Roque admitted that he can't help but cringe at Agra’s decision despite his years of experience as a lawyer, law professor and law student. Last weekend, Agra cleared Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) Governor Zaldy Ampatuan and Mamasapano Mayor Akmad Ampatuan from murder charges stemming from the massacre. Malacañang washed its hands off the matter and said President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo was studying various options, amid calls for Agra’s resignation or for his firing due to the controversial decision. "Yan ay tinatwag na damage control. Hindi ako naniniwala na sila ay salungat sa decision ni Secretary Agra. Di ako naniniwala na di alam ni presidente ang decision na yan. Nakita nilang nagalit ang sambayanan sa decision na ito, kinkailangan ma-control ang situation… sa tingin ko kasama ito sa plano upang ma-defuse ang galit ng taumbayan (That is called damage-control response. I do not believe Malacañang is against Agra’s decision. I do not believe the president did not know about Agra’s decision. It just so happened Malacañang is aware of the public outrage over Agra’s move and it wants to defuse it)," Roque said. Legal options Roque said their next move is to file with the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) a petition to disbar Agra. He said they scheduled the filing at 11 a.m. Thursday. He also said they are preparing to contest Agra’s decision before the Court of Appeals. "Ginagawa natin ang petition na baka ihain sa CA. Di pupuwedeng hindi mabaligtad ang decision ni Sec. Agra (We will contest this before the Court of Appeals. We cannot allow Agra’s decision to go uncontested)," he said. A third course of action is to monitor the Quezon City court, noting the two Ampatuans cannot be formally removed from the charge sheets without a court order. But he said they have already junked the option to file a motion for reconsideration before the Justice Department. "Sinasabi namin di kami magfa-file ng motion for reconsideration kay Sec. Agra mismo dahil ang biktima tuloy nawalan ng tiwala sa kanya (We will not file a motion for reconsideration with Agra. The victims have lost trust in him)," he said. — LBG/RSJ, GMANews.TV