Ampatuan ‘emissary’ denies bribe try on massacre witness

A retired Air Force officer who allegedly acted as emissary for the Ampatuan clan on Tuesday denied that he attempted to bribe a witness linking the powerful political family to the November 23 Maguindanao massacre. Col. Antonio Mariano, however, admitted that he personally knows Zaldy Ampatuan, the former Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) governor who is currently in detention in connection with the carnage that killed 57 people, most of them journalists. “I’m here to deny any attempt to bribe any witnesses in the Ampatuan case," he said in an interview aired over GMA News’ “24 Oras." Mariano surfaced a day after the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) identified him as the one who attempted to bribe Kenny Dalandag to recant his statement linking the Ampatuans to the massacre. “Paano ako magiging emisaryo ni Zaldy? Pag sinabing emisaryo ni Zaldy, parang personal envoy ka noon. Hindi naman siguro ganoon ang tama," he said.

(How can I be Zaldy’s emissary? When you say emissary, that’s like a personal envoy. I don’t think that’s correct.) He also denied in the same interview that he is in close confidence with the Ampatuan family. “Hindi pwedeng mangyari iyon. May sarili akong panindigan (That’s impossible. I’ve my own principles)," Mariano said. NBI counter-terrorism unit head Ricardo Diaz said Mariano asked him for access to Dalandag allegedly to carry out a plan to bribe the witness. Mariano refused to say whether or not he paid a visit to Diaz’s office, but vowed to give further details on the matter once the Department of Justice (DOJ) conducts a formal investigation. “Ipapaliwanag ko on that day kung nasaan ako. On that particular question hour, ipapaliwanag ko kung nasaan ako (I’ll explain everything at the proper time and forum)," he said. The DOJ, for its part, said it is just waiting for the NBI to file formal complaints before investigating on the alleged bribery attempt on the massacre witness. - KBK, GMANews.TV