Zaldy Ampatuan wants prosecution panel disqualified

Zaldy “Datu Puti" Ampatuan, the detained former governor of Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, wants Justice Secretary Alberto Agra to replace members of the prosecution panel handling the multiple murder charges against him and his co-accused in the Nov. 23, 2009 massacre in Ampatuan town, Maguindanao. In a nine-page motion filed with the Justice Department on June 3, lawyer Redemberto Villanueva asked Agra to disqualify the prosecution panel led by Assistant Chief State Prosecutor Richard Anthony Fadullon. Villanueva said in the resolution a new panel should be constituted to handle the prosecution of the criminal cases against the Ampautans and their co-accused, now pending in different courts. “The actions of the members of the said panel did not only show their penchant to disobey lawful authority but also betrayed their personal predilection on the merits of the said case, insofar as accused Zaldy and Akhmad are concerned," he said. Zaldy’s lawyer was referring to the panel’s actions on April 19, publicly denouncing Agra’s April 16 resolution dismissing the charges against Datu Akhmad and the former ARMM governor for lack of evidence. The public outrage over Agra’s April 16 decision forced the justice secretary to reverse his resolution on May 5. According Villanueva, the prosecutors showed “extreme bias" in refusing to pursue an opinion in line with the position of the secretary of justice, who is also the head of the National Prosecution Service. Principal witness Kenny Dalandag claimed that he saw Zaldy at 7 p.m. on Nov. 22, the night before 57 people including 32 journalists were massacred in broad daylight, at the house of his father, former Maguindanao Gov. Datu Andal Ampatuan Sr. in Shariff Aguak, where the killings were allegedly planned. Despite the legal and valid findings of Agra, the prosecutors insisted on a course of action “totally disparate and antagonistic with the opinion of their boss," thus, undermining the reviewing power of the justice secretary, Villanueva said in the June 3 filing. “The foregoing circumstances certainly do not inspire confidence in the objectivity and impartiality of the members of the panel. The panel has already displayed its predisposition, bias and prejudice against the accused, by insisting on using Dalandag’s affidavit, which is not only obviously implausible but also devoid of any probative value," said Villanueva. Thus, the prosecution panel should be disqualified from further prosecuting the criminal cases based on Rule 6.01, Canon 6 of the Code of Professional Responsibility, which provides that “the primary duty of a lawyer engaged in public prosecution is not to convict but to see that justice is done," Villanueva said in the resolution. —VS, GMANews.TV