Cops in Ampatuan admin case need not attend Makati hearings

Only their lawyers’ presence will be required during hearings, when the administrative case against 62 policemen implicated in the Maguinanao massacre is moved to the National Police Commission’s (Napolcom) Central Office in Makati City from its present venue in nearby Taguig City. Starting on August 20, proceedings for the administrative case involving the policemen will be held at the new Makati venue, the Napolcom announced on Friday during the resumption of the trial at Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig, where the policemen are also detained. Lawyer Yolanda Alog, member of the ad hoc committee formed to conduct the probe, said that in the future hearings at the Napolcom office in Makati, the suspects' legal counsel will be the only ones required to show up. The only time the suspects would be brought from Camp Bagong Diwa to the Napolcom office would be if they need to personally identify anyone among their fellow accused, Alog said. "The suspects can waive their appearances as long as they are not required to identify anyone among their colleagues," she said. A total of 62 police officers and men were earlier placed under preventive suspension after investigations linked them to the massacre of 57 people in Maguindanao on November 23, 2010, leading to criminal and administrative charges being filed en masse against them. Most of the policemen allegedly manned the checkpoints in the vicinity of the massacre site on that day. They are suspected to have operated upon the orders of the Ampatuan clan, a powerful Maguindanao family, some of whose members are blamed as masterminds and actual perpetrators in the crime. For his part, defense lawyer Tahir Lidasan said he doesn't see any problem with transferring the venue of the hearing, saying it would now be "easier" for them (lawyers) to reach the trial venue. He admitted however that the Napolcom will have to secure from the Quezon City court a permit to bring the accused from Taguig City to Makati City every time they are required to appear in court. It was Judge Jocelyn Reyes of the Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 221 who issued a commitment order to have the 197 suspects in the Ampatuan massacre detained at Camp Bagong Diwa under the supervision of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology.—Mark D. Merueñas/JV, GMANews.TV