Ampatuan camp eyes Gloria Arroyo as witness again

The defense panel in the Maguindanao massacre trial has once again decided to present former President and incumbent Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo as one of its witnesses in the high-profile murder case. Defense lawyer Gregorio Naravasa, legal counsel for Andal Ampatuan Sr. and son Andal Jr., bared his camp's plan to include Arroyo anew during Wednesday's pre-trial conference at the sala of Judge Jocelyn Solis-Reyes of the Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 221. The conference was for the murder cases of the elder Ampatuan and 31 other suspects who filed a motion for bail. Narvasa stressed that Arroyo would be testifying this time for the trial of Andal Sr.'s murder case and not Andal Jr.'s. The two, along with at least 56 other suspects, have pleaded not guilty to the charges. More than 100 other suspects remain at large, while other detained suspects including other Ampatuan scions, Rizaldy and Sajid, have yet to be arraigned pending the resolution of their respective motions in court. Narvasa refused to comment when asked by reporters what Arroyo could be testifying about in court. In response to the defense panel's plan to field Arroyo on the witness stand, lawyer Romeo Bagares of the Center International Law, which represents families of some of the slain journalists, said they would be "looking forward to Arroyo's testimony." In August last year, Arroyo's name came up on the list of around 300 witnesses that the defense was planning to present during the trial proper for the murder case lodged against prime accused Andal Jr., a former mayor of Datu Unsay town in Maguindanao. Critics at the time said Arroyo's inclusion on the list bolstered claims that the former president strongly supported the powerful clan. During her term, Arroyo was a perceived ally of the Ampatuans in Mindanao and was thought to have been helped by the clan to secure her victory in the region in the 2004 elections. Through Executive Order 546 in July 2006, Arroyo virtually allowed the Ampatuans to tap civilians and arm them to serve as force multipliers against armed rebels in the southern Philippine region. Through this privilege, the Ampatuans were said to have amassed a hug arms cache and eventually convert these armed civilians into their private armies. The defense panel, however, ended up dropping Arroyo from the list of witnesses over unspecified reasons. Among the other members of the Arroyo administration planned to be presented for Andal Jr's murder case were Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez, former Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr., former Press Secretary Jesus Dureza, and Lakas-Kampi-CMD stalwart Prospero Pichay. — KBK, GMA News