Kin of massacre victims lose 'biggest’ witness, counsel says

(Update 2 - 5:46 p.m.) A lawyer representing families of slain journalists in the November 23 Maguindanao massacre on Thursday said their "biggest" witness was lost when gunman Suwaib Upham was killed by unidentified armed men last week. Upham, who confessed to be one of the seven triggermen in the carnage, earlier tried but failed to apply for the government's Witness Protection Program (WPP), said lawyer Harry Roque. "Yes, I think he was [supposed to be] our biggest witness. He himself was there [at the crime scene]," Roque, legal counsel for families of 14 slain journalists, told GMANews.TV in a phone interview. During bail hearings at a Quezon City court for the multiple murder charges against prime suspect Andal Ampatuan Jr., the prosecution presented several witnesses including Ampatuan rival Governor-elect Esmael Mangudadatu, who lost his wife and several relatives in the massacre. But Upham was excluded from the list of witnesses because Department of Justice prosecutors have yet to interview him, Roque said. More witnesses Despite Upham's murder, the prosecution remains hopeful that it would still win the multiple murder case against 197 individuals implicated in the gruesome murder, he added. "May iba pa rin naman kaming mga witness na lalabas [We still have other witnesses to present]." Mangudadatu already indicated that his camp would soon be presenting to the ongoing hearing an "insider" who was close to the Ampatuan clan. Upham was not among those charged in the multiple murder case currently being heard by the Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 221, Roque said. He was, however, included among those charged for rebellion that supposedly stemmed from the massacre. The case was dismissed by a Quezon City judge. Upham claimed to be a "special bodyguard" of Andal Jr.'s cousin, Datu Kanor Ampatuan, another alleged gunman in the killings. Reports said Upham was a member of a police auxiliary unit in Maguindanao. Wary of DOJ execs Roque said that Upham's first attempt to apply to the WPP didn't push through because he refused to be interviewed inside the DOJ premises. He said the would-be witness refused to be near the DOJ offices since he allegedly knew about certain ranking DOJ officials working with the Ampatuans. "Sabi mismo ng amo niya na marami silang koneksyon sa DOJ [It was his boss himself who told him the Ampatuans have strong connections in the DOJ]," Roque said. As a result, Upham decided to just return to his home in Maguindanao despite risks against his life. [See: Slain massacre suspect feared Ampatuan 'allies' in DOJ — lawyer] Last week, Upham was killed in Parang town, bringing to his grave the names of the alleged Ampatuan allies at the DOJ. Roque said Upham was scheduled to fly back to Manila a day after he was killed. Justice Secretary Alberto Agra, meanwhile, said Roque should be blamed why Upham didn't make it to the WPP. He chided Roque for allegedly not respecting public prosecutors. "Harry Roque is the one at fault. He never respected the authority of the public prosecutors. The public prosecutors have control over private prosecutors not the other way around," he said in a text message to reporters. Palace outraged In response to the killing, Malacañang on Thursday expressed outrage over the incident, saying the Arroyo administration will make the most out of its remaining days to shed light on the matter. “We have directed our security forces to take all necessary measures to apprehend the perpetrators, utilizing all the special powers available under the state of emergency that the president declared and continues to maintain in the province," deputy presidential spokesman Gary Olivar said. The Palace said it was confident the Philippine National Police would be able to solve the case surrounding the murder — considered the worst, single-day election-related violence in Philippine history. [See related: Rallies across RP mark Maguindanao massacre's 7th month] Presidential spokesman Ricardo Saludo expressed hopes that despite the death of Upham, other witnesses would not be discouraged to come out and help prosecutors pin down the perpetrators in the crime. “Ang habol talaga natin dito mapalabas yung katotohanan at magkaroon ng hustisya. Alam naman natin sa mga kaso na ito importante yung testigo kung walang testigo maaring hindi manalo iyung prosecution at iyan din ang masasabi natin hindi lang dito sa Maguindanao massacre," he said. (What we’re really after here is for the truth to come out and for justice to prevail. We know that in cases like this, witnesses are important. Without witnesses, the prosecution might not win and we can say that even for cases other than the Maguindanao massacre.) - Mark D. Merueñas / RJAB Jr/KBK, GMANews.TV