Raps filed vs 197th suspect in Maguindanao massacre

(Updated 6:27 p.m.) Families of the victims of the grisly Maguindanao massacre on Thursday filed multiple murder complaints against a soldier who allegedly served as security aide of prime suspect Andal Ampatuan Jr. In their complaint affidavit filed with the Department of Justice (DOJ), the complainants said the respondent, former Staff Sergeant Joselito Andrada, is under the custody of the Philippine Army in Fort Bonifacio, Taguig. The case against Andrada was filed after witness PO1 Rainer Ebus positively identified him in a supplemental affidavit. He said Andrada, whom they call “Master," was at the crime scene on the fateful morning of Nov. 23, 2009 when armed men linked to the Ampatuan family shot dead 57 people, including 32 journalists, who were on their way to file the candidacy papers of then Buluan vice mayor and now Maguindanao Governor Esmael “Toto" Mangudadatu. Lawyer Harry Roque, representing the complainants, said the complainants fear that Andrada may go scot-free despite his alleged involvement in the crime. He said Andrada was earlier relieved from his post for conduct unbecoming of an Army member. Victims' kin kept in the dark? “January 2010 pa siya hawak ng militar pero hindi sinabi sa amin (He’s been in military custody since January 2010 and yet we weren't informed about it)," said Roque at the sidelines of the hearing on the massacre suspects’ petition for bail Thursday. According to Roque, a source whom he did not identify confirmed that Andrada is under the custody of the Philippine Army Provost Marshall in Fort Bonifacio. Andrada is the 197th suspect in the massacre, considered as one of the most heinous cases of election-related violence in the country. The list of suspects also includes other members of the powerful Ampatuan clan, including its patriarch Andal Sr., a former Maguindanao governor. Roque said Ebus positively identified Andrada, who was from the 75th Infantry Battalion based in Mindanao, through a photograph. In his supplemental affidavit dated Jan. 19, 2011, Ebus said Andrada was with him in the house of Ampatuan Jr., then mayor of Datu Unsay town, four days before the massacre happened. “Si Master Andrada ay back-up security ni Mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr. Kung saan pupunta si Mayor Andal Amptuan Jr. ay nandoon din si Master Andrada (Master Andrada was a back-up security of Mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr. Wherever Mayor Ampatuan went, he was always with him)," Ebus’ affidavit read. Ebus said he, Andrada, and some other police and military personnel were together on the morning of Nov. 23 waiting for the convoy carrying the victims. He said hours after the massacre, Ampatuan Jr. gathered his men in a mountainous area in Datu Hoffer town, and he distinctly remembered Andrada being with the former mayor. Active participant Ampatuan Jr. also reportedly gave Andrada about P5,000 and asked him to go home the next day, Ebus added. “All these facts support a finding of probable cause against the Respondent (Andrada) for being an active participant in the multiple murders arising from the massacre," the complainants said in their affidavit. During Thursday’s bail hearing, DOJ prosecutors presented a medico legal officer from the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), who conducted the autopsy on at least 10 bodies of the massacre victims. During his cross examination, Dr. Reynaldo Romero disclosed that victim Bai Eden Mangudadatu, Mangudadatu’s sister, sustained at least 10 gunshot wounds, five of which were fatal. Of the five fatal wounds, two were on the head, Romero said, which resulted in two separate exit wounds that created holes on the victim’s head “the size of [Romero’s] palm, with fingers extended." Romero said that based on the wounds inflicted, a high-powered firearm must have been used, with the firearm’s muzzle at least three feet away from the victim. A non-fatal wound was also found on the victim’s genitals, with the bullet not exiting the victim’s body. Romero said he was unable to recover the slug. Romero further explained autopsy results for Bai Farina, another sister of Mangudadatu's, and Zorayda Bernan, Mangudadatu's cousin. He said both sustained at least six gunshot wounds, some of which were fatal. On Bernan's case, Romero said two wounds were fatal: one on the chin and one at the back. The gun appeared to have been pressed on the chin of Zorayda when it was fired, according to Romero, so that the exit wound it created on the top of the head were the size of "two overlapping palms." Lawyer Nena Santos, Mangudadatu's legal counsel, said the prosecution is presenting at least eight medico legal officers. Romero was the second medico legal officer to be cross-examined. The hearing will resume on February 2, still at Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 221 at the Quezon City Hall of Justice. - KBK, GMANews.TV