Military scored for ‘VIP treatment’ of Andal Sr

Justice Secretary Leila de Lima on Thursday scored the military for allegedly giving VIP treatment to multiple murder suspect Andal Ampatuan Sr. when it allowed him to use his own sports utility vehicle during his transfer to a military hospital early this week. De Lima questioned why the Ampatuan patriarch was made to use his own black Lexxus when an ambulance of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) would have served the same purpose. “I don’t understand why they allowed that. Ideally, the ambulance of BJMP should be used in bringing inmates to the hospital. So there’s some semblance of special treatment there," she said. The Quezon City court has allowed the transfer of Ampatuan from his detention in Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig to the AFP Medical Center in Quezon City for treatment of his shingles. Ampatuan, former governor of Maguindanao province, was transferred last Tuesday. He, along with several of his sons and nephews and their family’s supporters, are facing charges for the massacre of 57 people, including 32 journalists, in Maguindanao last November 23 — one of the worst cases of political violence in the country. De Lima said she would talk to the panel of prosecutors handling the case to check with the court results of the medical tests conducted on the suspect. “I think that he should be brought back to the jail by today or tomorrow. The court only allowed a few days for him to stay in the hospital," she said. The Department of Justice (DOJ) has set a case conference on the Maguindanao massacre case early next week with the panel of prosecutors handling the case, as well as private lawyers and key officials of the Philippine National Police and the National Bureau of Investigation, in preparation for the upcoming resumption of trial in court. “We will look into all evidence we have and see and there are some more pieces of evidence that we still need to submit. We can say that we already have very comprehensive case, but we just want to make sure we have a stronger, more solid prosecution," De Lima said. - KBK, GMANews.TV