Defense: Arroyo testimony to favor Zaldy Ampatuan

Former President and incumbent Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is expected to confirm that Maguindanao massacre suspect Zaldy Ampatuan was in Manila on Nov. 23, 2009, the day of the grisly carnage, when she testifies in the trial. According to defense lawyer Gregorio Narvasa, Arroyo’s testimony will revolve around the meeting of the Lakas-Kampi-CMD party in Malacañang, which Zaldy supposedly attended on the day the massacre of 57 people occurred. Zaldy, a scion of the powerful Ampatuan clan, was suspended as governor of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) after he was implicated in the grisly crime. Narvasa, legal counsel for Zaldy's father Andal Ampatuan Sr. and brother Andal Jr., told reporters on Thursday that Arroyo's testimony will actually be “more for RG [regional governor]" than any other suspect. Zaldy is being legally represented in the murder case by lawyers Redemberto Villanueva and Howard Calleja. On Wednesday, lawyers of the Ampatuans told Quezon City Judge Jocelyn Solis-Reyes that they are once more planning to present Arroyo as witness. They made their manifestation during the pre-trial conference for the 57 counts of murder against Andal Sr. and Andal Jr. The defense panel first planned to present Arroyo as a witness last year, but the plan was dropped on the last minute over unspecified reasons. Once perceived as an Ampatuan ally, Arroyo was responsible — through an executive order — for allowing the powerful clan to arm civilians in Maguindanao to help battle Moro rebels. After the massacre, Arroyo placed the entire province and neighboring areas under martial law. During that period, the military seized huge caches of firearms and artillery hidden inside properties allegedly owned by the Ampatuans, bolstering government claims that the clan was planning on having a rebellion. However, subsequent rebellion charges filed before a Quezon City court was eventually junked for lack of probable cause. Alibi To further disprove claims he was not involved in the crime, Zaldy had also repeatedly said in the past that he was in Davao City on November 22, a day before the massacre, when prominent members of the clan and their supporters allegedly finalized the details of the planned attack. Zaldy has a pending motion before the Court of Appeals, seeking for a reinvestigation and to have him stricken off the charge sheet that includes the names of 196 other suspects. His alibi was among the reasons cited in the petition why he should not be implicated in the case. Prosecution witness Lakmodin Saliao, in his court testimony in September last year, claimed that the attack was initially planned during a dinner meeting that was presided over on Nov. 17, 2009 by Andal Sr. Saliao, a househelp of the clan, was present in the meeting. According to him, Andal Sr., Andal Jr., and Zaldy were in the meeting. During the first meeting, Andal Jr. allegedly proposed the idea to kill everyone in the electoral convoy of their political rival Esmael “Toto" Mangudadatu, who is now Maguindanao governor. The convoy — which included Mangudadatu's wife and two sisters, along with 32 local journalists — was supposed to head for Shariff Aguak to register Mangudadatu in the gubernatorial race and go up against Andal Jr. It was during the second meeting on November 22 that Zaldy, according to Saliao, suggested ways to cover the clan's tracks. "Kung iyan ang final decision na patayin sila lahat, pupunta ako ng Maynila para hindi halata," Zaldy allegedly told the attendees of the meeting. — KBK, GMA News