CA junks Andal Sr.'s bid to quash multiple murder raps

UPDATED 1:00 p.m. - The Court of Appeals (CA) has denied the bid of former Maguindanao governor Andal Ampatuan Sr. to quash the multiple murder charges lodged by the Department of Justice (DOJ) against him for the Ampatuan massacre in 2009. In a 27-page decision, the CA's Special Eleventh Division affirmed the DOJ's two resolutions, issued on April 16, 2010 and May 5, 2010, that found probable cause to charge Andal Sr., the clan patriarch with 57 counts of murder for the 57 victims of the massacre. "Petition is denied. The assailed resolutions dated April 16 and May 5 of the DOJ, insofar as the said resolution recommended the filing of a complaint for 57 multiple murder [charges] against herein petitioner (Andal Ampatuan Sr.) in the trial court, are hereby affirmed," the CA ruling said. Associate Justice Noel Tijam penned the resolution, concurred by Associate Justices Antonio Villamor and Amy Lazaro-Javier. As of posting time, GMANews.TV is still trying to contact the Ampatuan clan patriarch's lawyer, Sigfrid Fortun, for comment. Andal Sr. and his son, former Datu Unsay mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr., are tagged as the principal suspects in the multiple murder case. The other members of the influential clan and their private militiamen are also accused in the case. Fifty-seven people — 32 of them media workers — were killed in last year’s massacre in the town named after the clan. Grave abuse of discretion In his petition, Andal Sr. accused the DOJ of committing grave abuse of discretion in giving weight to the testimony of Kenny Dalandag, who alleged that the clan patriarch was present when the plan to stage the massacre was being hatched. Andal Sr. said there was "clear and convincing evidence on record" that Dalandag's testimony was "fabricated." However, the CA said these allegations "have no basis in fact and law." "After a careful scrutiny of the records of this case, we find and so hold that there is no grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction on the part of the DOJ insofar as its April 16, 2010 and May 5, 2010 resolutions upheld petitioner's indictment for the charge of multiple murder," said the appellate court. "On this note, petitioner's main petition, as well as the supplemental petition, must therefore, necessarily fail for lack of merit," it added. The CA likewise said Andal Sr.'s alibi "must simply fail" compared to the positive identification of witnesses Dalandag and Rasul Sangki that the clan patriarch was among the plotters of the massacre. "Citing serveral reasons that tend to discredit these witnesses' accounts, [Andal Sr.] mainly raises the defenses of alibi and denial and claims that he never had a hand in the Maguindanao massacre," the court said. "However, it is well settled that against the positive testimonies of the prosecution witness, appellant's plain denial of the offense charged, unsubstantiated by any credible and convincing evidence must simply fail," the court added. Separation of powers The CA held that the task of finding probable cause to indict a party for a certain crime is the function of the DOJ, which is under the executive branch. The CA added that the appellate court, being part of the judiciary, cannot encroach on this task. "The court considers it a sound judicial policy to refrain from interfering in the conduct of preliminary investigation and to leave the DOJ ample latitude of discretion in the determination of what constitutes sufficient evidence to establish probable cause for the prosecution of supposed offenders," it said. The CA also said it will not reverse the DOJ's findings "except in clear cases of grave abuse of discretion." – VVP, GMANews.TV