'Crazy' tweet upsets massacre defense lawyer

Defense lawyers in the Maguindanao massacre case on Wednesday warned the prosecution and the victims’ families against putting them in bad light after one of them complained before the court that he was described as “baliw" (crazy) in one Twitter account. During the resumption of the hearing at the Quezon City Hall of Justice, lawyer Paris Real, who once noted that some of the 57 victims may have died from insect bites or poisoning, cried foul over how he said he is being perceived by the public. “In one of the tweets, I have been called as a baliw. That’s hitting below the belt," said Real, who also once said that some of the victims may have been accidentally killed by other victims who were armed. Real also clarified before the court that he is not an “Ampatuan lawyer" like what a news report described him to be, noting that he does not represent any member of the Ampatuan family implicated in the crime. He said he has been receiving calls from people seeking clarification on this. There are more than 190 suspects in the massacre that occurred on Nov. 23, 2009 on a hilly portion at Sitio Masalay in Ampatuan town, Maguindanao. Among those killed were 32 journalists and members of the Mangudadatu family, a rival clan of the Ampatuans. Despite this, Real offered his apology to any party that may have been offended by his cross examination of the medico-legal experts so far presented in court. Not insensitive Meanwhile, another defense lawyer, Andres Manuel, denied private prosecutor Nena Santos’ claim that he asked the victims’ families to get out of the court room if they cannot stand his cross examination. Manuel represents Misuari Ampatuan, Moktar Daud, Norman Tatak, among others. "I am not too insensitive," said Manuel, who had earlier insinuated in his cross examination that some of the victims could have died from illness and not from gunshot wounds. Santos earlier told GMA News Online at the sidelines of one of the hearings that Manuel’s supposed insensitive remark triggered the outburst of Myrna Reblando, widow of slain journalist Alejandro, last month in court. The outburst prompted the prosecution to ask Judge Jocelyn Solis-Reyes of the Regional Trial Court Branch 221 to require concerned government agencies to extend psychosocial assistance to the grieving families of the victims. During Wednesday’s hearing, Santos reiterated her claim that she heard Manuel make that remark. Re-enacting the incident, she said, “I personally heard that. I was here and you (Manuel) were there." Solis-Reyes butted in and told Santos: “But I didn’t hear [Manuel] say that." In response, Santos said it was understandable that the judge would not have heard Manuel “because the remark was directed to us, your honor." Media interviews Manuel warned the prosecution to be more careful in granting media interviews. Lawyer Harry Roque, another private prosecutor representing families of the slain journalists, said there was nothing unfair in how the media have been reporting the proceedings. “The journalists were present during the hearings," said Roque, adding that what comes out in news reports were also based on the reporters’ observation of the hearings. Both parties had already agreed to conduct another case management conference where they could raise their concerns about granting media interviews, among other matters. — KBK/RSJ, GMA News Editor's note: The name of lawyer Andres Manuel was inadvertently written as Marlon Manuel in a previous version of this story. GMA News Online regrets the error. In the interest of fairness, we are reposting Atty. Marlon Manuel's feedback to our story below: I am Atty. Marlon Manuel, who was erroneously named in the article as a defense lawyer in the Ampatuan massacre case. While I appreciate the correction that was done a few hours ago, I must point out that the reporter committed a grave error in failing to check his basic facts. Writing “Andres" instead of “Marlon" is certainly not a typographical error. In the short two-day period when the news article has been posted online and has been circulated, it has already generated nasty comments against the lawyers named in the story. Interestingly, the story relates how one of the defense lawyers refused to be called an “Ampatuan lawyer." For the past one and a half decades, I have been engaged in alternative lawyering -- working on social justice and human rights issues, and defending marginalized groups and human rights victims. Being erroneously identified as a defense lawyer for the Ampatuans and being subjected, as a consequence, to public vilification is a grave affront not only to me but to the institutions, organizations and communities that I represent and have worked with.