Bishop pushes for truth commission to review Agra ruling

Insisting that the truth on the matter needs to be ferreted out, a Catholic bishop has pushed for a truth commission to review Justice Secretary Alberto Agra's decision clearing two Ampatuan clan members from murder charges over the Nov. 23 Maguindanao massacre. Caloocan Bishop Deogracias Iñiguez Jr. said he cannot help but be suspicious of the haste with which Agra arrived at his decision. “They should create a commission or body that would look into it," Iñiguez, who chairs the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines public affairs unit, said in an article on the CBCP news site. He added that Agra should also inhibit himself from the review panel, since he is the one involved in it. Iñiguez made the call for a truth commission after Agra reversed his intention to create a panel that would study his April 16 resolution. Earlier, Agra announced he was creating a review panel after a motion for reconsideration was filed by the families of the victims of the massacre. Agra had pushed for the dropping of multiple murder charges against suspended Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao governor Zaldy Ampatuan and suspended Mamasapano mayor Akmad Ampatuan. But he also rejected calls to inhibit himself from the case, adding that as Justice secretary he has the power whether to favor or not the motion. Families of some victims of the Nov. 23 massacre are moving to nullify Agra's decision. Fifty-seven people, including 32 journalists, were killed in the massacre in Ampatuan town in Maguindanao. - KBK, GMANews.TV