Maguindanao massacre witness killed — lawyer

A self-confessed gunman and possible witness in the Nov. 23 massacre in Maguindanao province was killed by still unidentified assailants, his lawyer said Wednesday. The witness, who used the pseudonym “Jessie," was killed on or before June 14, Rommel Bagares said, citing information from the victim’s family. “The reports are still sketchy, but his family has confirmed [his death]," Bagares told GMANews.TV in a phone interview. Jessie first surfaced on March 19, claiming he was one of the seven gunmen in the carnage that left 57 people, including 32 journalists, dead in Ampatuan town. According to Bagares, Jessie was brought to Manila four months ago to have him apply for the Witness Protection Program of the Department of Justice. Failed meetings The DOJ initially agreed to meet with Jessie at the office of the Commission on Human Rights in Quezon City, where his safety could be ensured. At the time, Jessie was fearful of reprisal from the suspects, including members of the powerful Ampatuan political family. Bagares said talks between Jessie and the DOJ broke down after prosecutors insisted that the meeting take place at the DOJ office in Manila. A second meeting was finally arranged, but it also didn’t push through. This prompted Jessie to return to his family in Mindanao, said Bagares. Jessie could have been the state prosecutors’ only witness who claimed direct participation in the massacre, branded the worst election-related violence in the country’s history. "Special bodyguard" In several media reports, Jessie described how he and six other gunmen shot the victims using high-powered firearms in Sitio Masalay, Barangay Salman in Ampatuan town, allegedly upon the orders of Andal Ampatuan Jr., then mayor of Datu Unsay town. Jessie was quoted as saying that the other six gunmen were Ampatuan Jr. himself, Ampatuan’s cousins Datu Kanor, Datu Ban, and Datu Mama; police officer Ando Masukat; and a certain Kudja. Jessie, the reports said, claimed he was assigned as a “special bodyguard" of Kanor. The reports said Jessie was a member of a police auxiliary unit in Maguindanao. Controversial prosecutor In a related development, a state prosecutor based in Davao was placed in hot water after he allowed two massacre witnesses to recant their affidavits implicating the Ampatuans without the knowledge of other prosecutors involved in the case. In a memorandum dated June 18, Justice Secretary Alberto Agra directed State Prosecutor II Jose Tadeo Sayson to explain in writing within three days why he should not be meted administrative sanctions for failure to inform the panel that he had administered the oath on the recanting affidavits of Maguindanao policemen Anwar Masukat and Moghira Hadja Angguial on January 3 and February 22, 2010, respectively. Masukat and Angguial were among the 198 respondents charged with multiple murder in connection with carnage. Agra said Sayson allowed the recantation despite the fact that the case was still under preliminary investigation by the panel of investigating prosecutors, placing in peril the prosecution of the case. “Your reported actuation, if true, undermines the prosecution of these national interest cases, casts serious doubt the integrity of the prosecution service erodes the peoples trust in government. Evidently, the same could constitute serious misconduct and is prejudicial to the best interest of the service," Agra said. - KBK, GMANews.TV