QC judge: Arraignment of Andal Sr, Zaldy possibly known this month

A Quezon City judge on Thursday assured the prosecution that it would not be too long before she finally decides on the issue of arraigning the remaining Maguindanao massacre suspects, including five prominent members of the Ampatuan clan. Judge Jocelyn Solis-Reyes of the Regional Trial Court made the assurance after members of the prosecution asked her to have the remaining suspects arraigned now. Solis-Reyes she could not grant the prosecution's request because its motion for arraignment was still pending in her court and has yet to be resolved. However, she assured the prosecution that she will come up with a decision "as soon as possible." When private prosecutor Harry Roque Jr., who represents families of the 14 journalists killed in the carnage, sought an assurance from the court if it could rule on the matter within this month, Solis-Reyes responded: "The court will do its best." During a recess in Thursday's hearing, Roque told reporters outside the makeshift courtroom at the Quezon City Jail Annex building inside the military camp that the clan patriarch, Zaldy, and the other accused should already be arraigned, especially because it has been almost 500 days since the massacre happened. Motion for reinvestigation Andal Sr. and Zaldy's arraignment were deferred after their respective counsels filed before the Court of Appeals a motion for reinvestigation, in an attempt to clear them from the murder charges. "Sobra sobra nang due process iyon. 500 days, paano naman ang due process naming mga pamilya ng biktima," said Myrna Reblando, widow of slain Manila Bulletin reporter Alejandro "Bong" Reblando. Lead prosecutor Justice Secretary Francisco Baraan III said under court rules, an accused can only defer his or her arraignment for a maximum period of two months. "The 60-day period has already lapsed for those accused even if they have a pending petition before the Court of Appeals," Baraan argued. Baraan added that Solis-Reyes is the one who will ultimately decide whether or not to arraign the other arrested suspects in the massacre. "May sarili siyang finding of probable cause kaya nga nag-issue siya ng warrant of arrest before (She has a separate finding of probable cause. That's why she ordered the suspects arrested in the first place)," Baraan said. The camp of the clan patriarch has repeatedly denied having any involvement in the grisly killings as well as in the supposed planning of the attack, contrary to what a prosecution witness and former Ampataun househelp had testified in court late last year. Zaldy, meanwhile, has already issued an alibi by saying he was not in Maguindanao on November 22 and 23 in 2009. The suspended governor said he was in Davao City on the day he was allegedly seen planning the killings at their mansion in Shariff Aguak. On the day of the massacre itself, Zaldy said he was attending a meeting of the Lakas-Kampi-CMD party, of which he is a member. Thursday's arraignment of two more suspects brought to 53 the number of accused individuals who have already entered their pleas in court. All have pleaded not guilty. Only 15 are undergoing trial. Apart from the 53 arraigned suspects, around 30 more detained suspects have yet to be arraigned, including suspects Andal Ampatuan Sr. and his son former ARMM Gov. Zaldy Ampatuan. A total of 196 people are accused in what is regarded as the worst single-day, election-related violence in Philippine history. A total of 90 suspects have already been arrested, while more than 100 are still at large. – VVP, GMA News