Palace supports live coverage of Ampatuan trial

Malacañang is hopeful that the Supreme Court will change its ruling that prohibits the live broadcast of court trials, it said Saturday, noting that “public interest itself is at stake" where the Ampatuan multiple murder trial is concerned. Deputy presidential spokeswoman Abigail Valte said this after a new petition seeking the live coverage of the trial was lodged before the high court, days before the first anniversary of the November 23 massacre in Maguindanao. Valte’s judgment echoed that of SC spokesman Jose Midas Marquez, who said on Thursday that the high court may seriously consider a change of its ruling, as most of the justices behind the ruling have since retired. (See: SC spokesman: Now is good time to ask for Ampatuan trial live coverage) “From what I have seen, the SC justices who decided on (disallowing) the (live coverage) of the former trial of former President Estrada have all retired," Valte said. “So bago ang mahistrado natin, tingnan natin kung magkakaroon ng pagbabago sa decision nila," Valte said on government-run dzRB radio. (So we have a new set of justices. Let us see if there will be a change in the high court’s stand.) “Hindi talaga ito ordinaryong krimen, talagang karumal-dumal ang nangyari. Interesado ang publiko na makita ang hustisya para sa biktima," she added. (This is no ordinary crime. This is truly a heinous [crime]. The public is interested to see justice served to the victims.) She also pointed out that President Benigno Aquino III himself had expressed his support of allowing live media coverage of the Ampatuan murder trial. Valte noted that Aquino even ordered that a letter on the matter be drafted and sent to Chief Justice Renato Corona. She did not say, however, if the letter has already been sent. “Naniniwala tayong malaki ang public interest sa trial na ito. Makakatulong maging transparent ang buong proseso," she said. (We believe that the public interest [itself] is at stake in this trial. This [live coverage] will help make the procedure transparent.) Old SC composition During the plunder trial of former President Joseph Estrada in 2001, the high court had thumbed down live media coverage of the proceedings. At that time, the SC was composed of Chief Justice Hilario Davide, Associate Justices Bernardo Pardo, Arturo Buena, Minerva Gonzaga-Reyes, Josue Bellosillo, Jose Melo, Reynato Puno, Vicente V. Mendoza, Santiago Kapunan, Artemio Panganiban, Leonardo Quisimbing, Angelina Sandoval-Gutierrez, and Consuelo Ynares-Santiago, and Jose Vitug. The high court was divided in handing down the decision. Seven justices voted against the live broadcast. These were Vitug, who penned the decision, Pardo, Buena, Gonzaga-Reyes, Kapunan, Sandoval-Gutierrez, and Mendoza, according to the Supreme Court website. The six who dissented were Davide, Bellosillo, Melo, Puno, Panganiban, Quisumbing, while one, Ynares-Santiago, was on leave. However, all of the justices who took part in that 2001 decision have since retired. The present Supreme Court led by Corona includes Antonio Carpio, Conchita Carpio Morales, Presbitero Velasco Jr., Antonio Eduardo Nachura, Teresita Leonardo-de Castro, Arturo Brion, Diosdado Peralta, Lucas Bersamin, Mariano del Castillo, Roberto Abad, Martin Villarama Jr., Jose Perez, Jose Mendoza, and Ma. Lourdes Sereno. Valte assured the public and families of the victims that Malacañang was committed to serving justice. Palace support for live media coverage of the trial indicates this seriousness, she said. Valte also noted that Judge Jocelyn Solis-Reyes had accommodated prosecutors’ request to hold hearings twice a week instead of once a week. “Nariyan ang ating commitment (na) magkaroon ng hustisya para sa naging biktima ng krimeng ito," she said. (Our commitment to have justice for the victims of this crime is there.) Mindanao bishops Meanwhile, a Catholic bishop in Mindanao backed calls for the live coverage of the Ampatuan trial. Marbel (Cotabato) Bishop Dinualdo Gutierrez said such coverage is one step toward transparency, Church-run Radio Veritas reported Saturday. Gutierrez said live coverage would increase public awareness of the case and help ensure that the truth comes out. Media initiative On Nov. 23, a convoy of relatives and supporters of Esmael “Toto" Mangudadatu, then vice mayor of Buluan town, were traveling to Shariff Aguak, the capital of Maguindanao to file Mangudadatu’s candidacy for governor. With them in the convoy was a big contingent of journalists, who considered Mangudadatu’s move a major event since it signaled a bold challenge to the Ampatuan clan’s long-standing dominance in Maguindanao politics. The convoy never reached its destination. It was halted by at least 100 armed men allegedly led by Andal Ampatuan Jr., then mayor of Datu Unsay Ampatuan town and the son and namesake of the preeminent elder and governor, Andal Ampatuan Sr. All 57 people in the convoy, including 32 journalists, were mercilessly killed and their bodies dumped into a freshly-dug open pit. A 58th victim, the driver of a media vehicle, remains missing and is presumed to have been among those killed. Ten months after the killings and after a lengthy investigation and pre-trial period, the formal trial of the 197 accused, including prominent members of the Ampatuan clan, began on Sept. 10. Initially, cameramen were allowed to take pictures and footage of the court room before the start of each hearing. However, in the last few weeks, the court tightened the rules further and restricted cameramen from entering the court room. Relatives of the victims have expressed concern that the trial was taking too long. A long drawn-out trial, they said, would not only be more emotionally difficult, but would be cause them more expenses. Relatives of the victims, journalists, media groups and some members of the academe filed a petition with the high court on Friday asking it to allow the live coverage of the trial. (See: SC urged to approve live media coverage of Ampatuan trial) The groups cited the basic constitutional rights of the public to information and freedom of the press. The petitioners included the National Union of Journalists in the Philippines, broadcast giants ABS-CBN and GMA Network, 31 journalists, faculty members of the University of the Philippines College of Mass Communication, and some relatives of the slain media workers. Reasonable guidelines Rachel Pastores of the Public Interest Law Center argued that the high court could instead release “reasonable guidelines" for the live coverage of the trial, which continues to draw worldwide condemnation. “Maraming paraan naman diyan bukod sa pagpigil sa [There are many ways apart from banning] live coverage, given there is the technology to control the proceedings," Pastores said. “We are not taking away from the court its authority to decide when to apply live coverage of a trial. But we want this issue to be discussed because of the changing times, particularly in this [case]," said the petitioners’ counsel. Live media coverage would save the victims’ families, who live in different parts of Mindanao, time and money as they have been traveling back and forth to Manila just to attend the hearings, she also said.—With Dani Molintas/JV, GMANews.TV