Public prosecutor rails against sacking of team from Ampatuan case

The former head of the public prosecution panel in the ampatuan massacre case denied on Monday his team lacked the "zeal, aggressiveness and dynamism" in prosecuting suspects in the grisly November 2009 carnage. In an interview, Assistant Chief State Prosecutor Richard Anthony Fadullon said it was "unfair" for Justice Secretary Leila de Lima to say that the prosecutors' efforts in the case were lacking. He, however, noted that as DOJ secretary, De Lima has the prerogative to replace them on the basis of the public prosecutors' growing rift with the private prosecutors. "We've been candid to her that she can change us anytime she wants. The reason why the panel was taken aback was because of the comments that we did not act on the case with enough zeal, dynamism and aggressiveness," Fadullon said. Fadullon has led the prosecution since the trial began on Jan. 5, 2010. He said DOJ Undersecretary Francisco Baraan III, the official assigned to oversee the coordination between the public and private prosecutors, attended the hearings only twice, while the new Witness Protection Program director, Martin Menes, attended the hearing for only half a day. "So tell me, where was the information from? How are you monitoring? You don't see what is happening because you're not there. If you use the rift as a reason, period, you won't hear anything from me. But if you say we lacked zeal, I will speak up. I have to defend the panel," Fadullon said. [See: Justice exec sent to supervise prosecution in Ampatuan case] Fadullon said he had discussed the matter with De Lima, who said it was difficult for her to replace six of the 12 DOJ prosecutors. “She said she had a difficult time deciding and I commiserate with her because it's not an easy decision to make. But then, what causes all the confusion is when you read in the papers, [she's saying] 'I should've sided with my prosecutors' and then at the end of the day, she had this observation after all. But then you are the secretary, that's your opinion," said Fadullon, recounting his conversation with De Lima. In a Department Order issued on March 9, De Lima ordered Fadullon and senior state prosecutors Juan Pedro Navera, Rosanne Balauag, Irwin Malaya, and prosecution attorneys Karla Cabel and Amanda Felipe removed from the case. They will be replaced by four new prosecutors, who will appear in court for the first time this Wednesday. [See: Lawyer hopeful shakeup won't weaken Ampatuan case] Rift with private prosecutors On Monday, Fadullon admitted there was a growing rift with private prosecutor Nena Santos, who represents Maguindanao Gov. Esmael "Toto" Mangudadatu, whose wife and other relatives were among the 57 victims in the massacre allegedly masterminded by the powerful Ampatuan clan. Fadullon said he and Santos disagreed on the strategy on when to present the witnesses and who will present them. "It's difficult to work on a case when you have so many lawyers. It's like herding cats. Everybody has way of looking at theories, strategies that should be adopted, how and when are witnesses supposed to be presented," he said. "In that sense, it was hard for you to do your job, to channel all your energies to it, be there [at the trial], be attentive to what the judge is saying, listen to what the defense is saying, prepare your witnesses, and then you have someone from your team wanting to say something else," he added. GMA News Online tried to seek Santos' reaction to the shake-up in the public prosecution panel, but she declined to comment. Sole objective Fadullon, in Monday's interview, added that whenever Santos disagreed with him, she would report his moves to De Lima or Baraan, leaving him feeling "overridden." "So imagine, you are placed in a situation where you are lead prosecutor but your judgment is put in question. You can't implement your strategy because there are others who disagree and you are being accused of trying to make it difficult for everybody. We only have one objective here and that's to see this case through," he said. Fadullon likewise debunked De Lima's claim that Santos presented most of the witnesses who testified before the trial presided by Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 221 Judge Jocelyn Solis-Reyes. "Truth to tell, we've had 22 witnesses all in all. Not one was presented by her (Santos)." Fadullon said that on March 10, he wanted to resign as lead prosecutor, but apparently, De Lima had already issued the order removing him and five other members of the public prosecution team a day before. "To be honest, I wanted to resign for the simple reason that the disagreements were getting out of hand. I felt it was no longer healthy in a sense that the defense was noticing it already," he said. Still concerned about the case Still, Fadullon said that despite the shake-up, he hopes that the new prosecutors will be able to catch up right away. "They have to read lots of records, institutional knowledge on how the case has been progressing these past few months. Any change for that matter, I wish the panel the best. You still have to do your homework and go to court prepared," he said. "I'm still concerned about the case, even if am not there, it's still a DOJ case. We don't want to be affected by whatever misunderstandings with private lawyers. We still want the case to succeed because we invested a lot of time and energy and resources these past months," he added. He also said that if there would be any changes because of the shake-up, it would be felt "weeks from now." – KBK/MRT/VS, GMA News