Massacre victims' kin dismayed over Andal Sr's non-arraignment

Travelling in full-force, Maguindanao Gov. Esmael "Toto" Mangudadatu and his four brothers tried catching the last flight out of Davao City late Tuesday night just to arrive in Manila in time for the expected arraignment of clan patriarch Andal Ampatuan Sr. Instead, disappointment greeted the Mangudadatu brothers when they entered the courtroom of the Quezon City Jail Annex in Taguig City on Wednesday and found out that the arraignment — as earlier requested by Andal Sr. himself — will not push through. Andal Sr., through his lawyer Sigfrid Fortun, last week filed a motion for arraignment and requested that he be arraigned on Wednesday, May 25. However, Judge Jocelyn Solis-Reyes did not issue an order for it but assured to issue one "not later than Friday." "Nag-pray pa naman ako na sana matuloy na ngayon. Pero nakakalungkot na hindi natuloy ang arraignment [I've been praying for this. But it is saddening that the arraignment did not push through]," Mangudadatu told reporters on the sidelines of Wednesday's hearing. Mangudadatu said he arrived in Manila from Davao City around 2 a.m. and has been preparing to attend the day's hearing since 4 a.m. "Wala pa akong tulog. Paidlip-idlip lang sa kotse." Accompanying Mangudadatu were his brothers Ibrahim Mangudadatu, Buluan mayor; Khadafi Mangudadatu, ARMM assemblyman; Freddie Mangudadatu, a local official from Mangudadatu town; and Sajid Ampatuan, a local official from Pandag town. "All we wanted today was to see [in handcuffs] the clan patriarch of one of the most powerful clans in the Philippines," the Maguindanao governor said. Mangudadatu's legal counsel, private prosecutor Nena Santos was equally disappointed with the non-arraignment. "We have always been moving for the arraignment not only of Andal Sr. but of all the suspects in the massacre, without exception," she said. Of the six prominent Ampatuan clan members who are detained in Taguig City, only one — Andal Jr. — has so far been arraigned. Andal Sr's alleged role Prosecution witness Lakmodion Saliao, a long-time Ampatuan house help, last year testified in court that he was present during two meetings in one of the mansions of the Ampatuans where the attack was supposedly hatched over dinner. The witness said Andal Sr. presided over the meeting that was attended by his sons - prime suspect former Datu Unsay Mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr. and suspended ARMM Gov. Rizaldy Ampatuan — and his supporters. During one of the meetings, according to Saliao, it was agreed that members of the electoral convoy would be flagged down on the road to prevent its members from filing the certificate of candidacy of the clan's rival, then Buluan Vice Mayor Toto Mangudadatu. The witness also said it was Andal Jr. who suggested that every member of the convoy be killed to ensure there would be no witnesses to the planned attack. Further, the witness claimed that Andal Sr. planned to evade arrest by escaping into the mountains. The plan, however, was opposed by Fortun. Authorities later held Andal Sr. in hospital arrest in Davao City and later brought him to Manila, where he was brought to the Quezon City Jail Annex inside Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig City, where the rest of the almost 80 arrested suspects are detained. Families of the victims have earlier asked the government to allow them to make surprise visits not only to ensure that the detained Ampatuans are still in their cells but also to check reports that they were receiving special treatment at the facility. The prosecution earlier cited insider information reaching them that the detained Ampatuans were being allowed to use the makeshift court room, where proceedings for their case are being held, to receive their guests and visitors. The suspects also allegedly used the courtroom as a massage parlor, where they get regular massages. Both QC Jail Annex warden and the camp of the Ampatuans have denied such allegations. — RSJ, GMA News