Arroyo on top of 300-long list of defense witnesses in Ampatuan trial

In a list of about 300 witnesses that the Ampatuan defendants intend to present in the ongoing Maguindanao massacre trial, guess who is going to be the first on the witness stand? While some of the listed witnesses were top officials of the previous administration, the first one to take the stand might well be former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo herself, sources from both defense and prosecution confirmed on Friday. The announcement that Mrs. Arroyo is being lined up as first witness was made during a case conference at the sala of Judge Jocelyn Solis-Reyes at the Quezon City Hall of Justice on Thursday, a prosecution lawyer told GMANews.TV in an interview. According to the lawyer, the judge asked both camps during the conference to "verbally" identify all the witnesses they plan to present for trial. The prosecution named at least 170 prosecution witnesses, while the defense named more than 300 people — with Arroyo on the top of list. "We enumerated our own witnesses and they enumerated their own witnesses. We heard of it," the prosecution lawyer said. "Magkakampi nga sila (It just shows they are allies)," the lawyer remarked, referring to a widely-held perception that Mrs. Arroyo and the Ampatuans were in firm alliance during the past years until the massacre happened. "Nasa transcript of preliminary conference iyon... na Number 1 sa list si Gloria Arroyo (It’s in the transcript of preliminary conference, that Gloria Arroyo is Number 1 on the list)," said the lawyer, who spoke on conditions of anonymity because of lack of authority to comment on the matter. Since both camps were mentioning so many names of prospective witnesses, Solis-Reyes reportedly requested that they put down the names on a written list. In another interview, a defense lawyer also confirmed that Arroyo was on top of their list of witnesses, which could mean that she will be the first to take the witness stand. The defense lawyer said apart from Arroyo, who is now a member of the Lower House representing Pampanga’s 2nd district, they also plan to invite as witnesses former Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez, former Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro Jr., former Press Secretary Jesus Dureza, and Lakas-Kampi-CMD stalwart Prospero Pichay. The lawyer also clarified that Arroyo was being made a witness only by prime suspect Andal Ampatuan Jr., former mayor of Datu Unsay town, and not necessarily by the entire defense panel. No idea Asked for comment on Mrs. Arroyo’s reported inclusion in the Ampatuan witness lineup, Arroyo's spokesperson Elena Bautista-Horn told GMANews.TV that her camp hasn’t received such reports. "Wala pa kaming (We still don’t have) information on that," Bautista-Horn said. Gonzalez, Arroyo’s former Justice secretary, also said he has "no knowledge" of the witness lineup, but added he was willing to testify if the court subpoenas him. For his part, Sigfrid Fortun, legal counsel for Andal Ampatuan Jr., also denied in a text message that they are throwing the former president into the witness stand. In past hearings, only the prosecution has so far presented its witnesses, among them National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Counter-Terrorist Unit chief Ricardo Diaz, former Ampatuan vice mayor Rasul Sangki, and his uncle Datu Mohamad Sangki. The Ampatuans, like their rival clan the Mangudadatus, were known political allies of the previous Arroyo administration. In 2006, Arroyo signed Executive Order 546, allowing local chief executives to form auxiliary forces, supposedly to battle Moro rebels in southern Philippines but also, critics say, served as private armies loyal to their masters. After the November 23 massacre of 57 people in Ampatuan town in Maguindanao, the Ampatuans were said to have had a falling out with the Arroyo camp. Former Buluan vice mayor Esmael "Toto" Mangudadatu, whose wife and sisters were among the massacre victims, ran and won as Maguindanao governor last May, against two perceived Ampatuan allies.—JV, GMANews.TV