Palace asks patience from Maguindanao massacre victims' kin

As the nation marked the 11th month of the infamous Maguindanao massacre Saturday, Malacañang appealed to families of the victims to be patient in their wait for justice. Deputy presidential spokeswoman Abigail Valte said they are already doing everything they can to thwart possible delaying tactics and to get the case moving in the courts. "Naintindihan natin ang saloobin at damdamin ng naulilang biktima. Nasa jurisdiction yan ng korte, paano iba-balance ang karapatan ng akusado at karapatan ng biktima at naulila. Hindi rin kasi pwedeng pabilisin may maapakang karapatan sa kabila. Kung nangyari yan maaakusahan ang judge may kinikilingan ka," Valte, herself a lawyer, said on government-run dzRB radio. (We understand the feelings of the victims' families. This is in the court’s jurisdiction now, it is up to the court to balance the rights of the victims and the accused. We cannot just rush the proceedings at the expense of the defendants, lest the judge be perceived as biased.) At least 57 people, 32 of them journalists, were killed in the massacre at Ampatuan town in Maguindanao province on November 23 last year. Quezon City Judge Jocelyn Reyes is now handling the case and holding weekly hearings. When asked if the victims' families have no choice but to wait, Valte said, "parang ganoon talaga (it appears that way)." "Nag-submit tayo sa rule of law at jurisdiction ng court, kailangan irespeto ang directive at resolution at order (We submitted to the rule of law and the court’s jurisdiction. We must respect its directives, resolutions and orders)," she said. "Kailangan maintindihan marami tayong factors kino-consider. Hindi pwedeng i-fast-track ang kaso kung ma-violate ang right ng isang party. Ang akusado may karapatan, ang biktima may karapatan. It’s trying to balance the progress of the case (We must understand there are many factors to consider. We cannot fast-track the case if it means violating the rights of one party. This is balancing the progress of the case)," she added. Besides, she said that on the prosecution side, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima is taking steps to thwart any possible delaying tactic. - TJD, GMANews.TV