Prosecutors to resign than forge deal with Zaldy Ampatuan

Several prosecutors in the Maguindanao massacre case on Wednesday said they would rather resign their posts rather than strike a deal with accused multiple-murderer Rizaldy "Zaldy" Ampatuan. The prosecutors, who spoke with reporters during Wednesday's hearing in Taguig City, echoed Justice Secretary Leila de Lima's rejection of the suspended governor’s offer to testify against his father and brothers who are accused of plotting the Nov. 23, 2009 Maguindanao carnage. They assured that they will never enter into an agreement with Zaldy Ampatuan in exchange for anything, ruling out a plea bargain similar to that entered into by the Office of the Ombudsman with retired military comptroller Maj. Gen. Carlos Garcia. "Baka ma-Wendell Sulit kami niyan. Ayaw namin maging ganun [We might end up like Wendell Sulit]," said one of the prosecutors who spoke on condition of anonymity while referring to the Ombudsman prosecutor who negotiated the deal with Garcia. In that agreement, the retired general, who was facing a P300-million plunder case and was barred from seeking bail, was allowed to plead guilty to a lesser and bailable offense of direct bribery which led to his release from detention. Sulit was eventually suspended because of that plea bargain. "We would rather resign than accept him [Zaldy] as a state witness. Hindi lang 58 ang namatay sa massacre kung di 59," the other prosecutor said. The 59th "victim" the prosecutor was referring to was Senior State Prosecutor Leo Dacera, who they refered to as their "boss" and once led the prosecution team in the massacre case but died of a heart attack in November 2010. There were only 57 victims, according to court records, with the body of a “58th victim," journalist Reynaldo Momay, still unaccounted for. While De Lima has already rejected Zaldy's offer, the Palace, through presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda, earlier said they were not closing the doors on Zaldy and would "assess" his testimony first to find out if Malacañang can help in ferreting out the truth about the gruesome Maguindanao killings. — ELR/VS, GMA News