Disbarment case being mulled vs Ampatuan lawyers

UPDATED 4:15 p.m.— A prosecution lawyer in the Ampatuan murder trial is planning to file a disbarment case before the Supreme Court against several counsels for the defense for allegedly delaying the proceedings. The very first day of trial of the murder case was postponed for another week on Wednesday. A prosecution lawyer, who requested anonymity, told reporters that their camp should ask the SC to step into the matter to prevent further delays in the proceedings. "We are thinking of filing disbarment cases for disrupting court process for filing so much recusation [request not to hear a case]. That is contrary to their claim of a speedy trial," the lawyer said. So far, Judge Jocelyn Solis-Reyes of the Quezon City Regional Trial Court branch 221 has been asked seven times to inhibit herself from the multiple murder case for her alleged bias. Of these recusations, five were filed by the camp of prime suspect Andal Ampatuan Jr., one came from clan patriarch Andal Sr., and the last one came from Andal Jr.'s brother and fellow accused Sajid Ampatuan. Five of the seven motions for recusation have been denied while the remaining two have yet to be resolved. Apart from the slew of recusations, the lawyer said they would also be using as grounds for disbarment the alleged attempts of the defense to bribe prosecution witnesses. The lawyer refused to identify who among the 170 prosecution witnesses were approached by the defense, but said "more than three" told the prosecution that they were allegedly offered bribes. The lawyer did not identify the defense lawyers supposedly involved in the bribery but said "not all defense lawyers were involved." The counsel also said the bribe offers ranged between P25 million and P50 million. Suggestions to take the Ampatuan multiple murder trial to the SC came after Justice Secretary Leila de Lima, who attended Wednesday's hearing, told reporters her advice to the prosecution to "not confine itself to the local court." Private prosecutor Harry Roque, who represents the families of 13 journalists, said he has yet to speak with other prosecutors on whether to push through with the disbarment case. He also said he has not yet received reports that prosecution witnesses were being paid off. "Hindi ko pa alam sa kanila. Buti nga sila binabayaran lang. Sa akin pinapatay ang witness ko [I don't know yet with my fellow prosecutors. Good that their witnesses are only being bribed. But my witness was killed]," he told GMANews.TV after the hearing. Roque was referring to prospective prosecution witness Suwaib Upham, a self-confessed gunman in the November 23 massacre, who was killed in Maguindanao in July after failing to qualify in the government's Witness Protection Program. Private prosecutor Nena Santos, representing the Mangudadatus, lamented the postponement of Wednesday's hearing, saying the defense was obviously employing dilatory tactics. "If you have no defense, your only way is to delay," Santos told GMANews.TV in a separate interview. Asked by GMANews.TV on the possibility of disbarring defense lawyers for their actions in court, state prosecutors refused to comment, saying they do not want to be reprimanded by Judge Solis-Reyes. 'Pay for our expenses' Roque on Wednesday said the repeated deferment of proceedings for the Ampatuan multiple murder trial has already brought so much financial burden on the families of massacre victims that the defense should already be required to shoulder the expenses. "We move to reimburse the cost of the expenses of the victims' families for coming here," said Roque, who represents the families of the 13 journalists killed in the November 23 killings. Roque said the families of the 57 victims of the carnage always has to fly in to Manila from different parts of southern Mindanao, including General Santos City; Koronadal City in South Cotabato; and Buluan in Maguindanao. The victims were part of an electoral convoy that was supposed to file a certificate of candidacy on behalf of then Buluan vice mayor Esmael "Toto" Mangudadatu, a known political rival of the prime suspects in the massacre. The families of the slain journalists are currently being financially assisted by several non-government organizations including the Freedom Fund for Journalists (FFJ). Roque said the victims were not only suffering from financial setbacks but were experiencing emotional burdens as well. "May karapatan ang biktima na nalalabag. Unang-unag nasisira ang expectations nila (The victims' rights are violated. First of all, their expectations are not met)," Roque told reporters after the hearing. "May danyos sa pagpunta nila dito. Pupunta sila dito, napaka-layo tapos wala namang nangyayari (They incur expenses when they go here. They travel all the way here and then nothing happens)," he added. Meanwhile, defense lawyer Sigfrid Fortun, representing prime suspect Andal Ampatuan Jrs, objected to Roque's request, saying there was nothing in the rules that requires the defense camp to answer for the financial expenses of the other party. "Atty. Roque is speaking on the top of his head. He is already out of order," said Fortun. Judge Jocelyn Solis-Reyes did not act on Roque's request for reimbursement, but noted it as a manifestation of the prosecution camp. — LBG/VVP, GMANews.TV