Palace: No deal with Zaldy Ampatuan

Malacañang on Thursday assured the public that it will not forge any deal with Maguindanao massacre suspect Zaldy Ampatuan despite his revelations of irregularities under the Arroyo administration. “No, certainly not," said presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda when asked regarding possible deals with Zaldy, a suspended Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) governor, in exchange for his exposès. Zaldy has implicated former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in the alleged poll fraud in the 2007 mid-term elections and graft involving three government projects in Mindanao. Lacierda also said Malacañang continues to rally behind the victims of the November 2009 massacre, countering lawyer Harry Roque’s accusation that the Ampatuan family remains influential under the Aquino administration. “Sa mga nagsasabi na kami ay makikipag-coddle sa mga Ampatuan, hindi po totoo iyon," Lacierda said at a press briefing. President Benigno Aquino III is set to meet with the families and relatives of the massacre victims at around 4 p.m. in Malacañang later in the day. A total of 57 people, including 32 journalists, were killed in the massacre, which happened in a desolate area in Ampatuan town, Maguindanao, on Nov. 23, 2009. Lacierda said Zaldy’s participation in the case “is already within the sound discretion of the trial court." Zaldy had earlier volunteered to testify against the accused in the case, which include his father Andal Ampatuan Sr. and brother Andal Jr. and Sajid. “Whatever evidence that he will be presenting will be up to the judge to appreciate and to discern. So we, in the executive branch, have nothing to do with the appreciation of his testimony," Lacierda said. Earlier in the day, Roque, who represents families of 15 journalists slain in the massacre, said he doubts Zaldy's motive for making several revelations against former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. “Kaya tumtulong siya kila President Benigno Aquino III ay dahil may hinihingi siyang kapalit. Itaga niyo sa bato, hihingi niya ay mapawala sa murder offense or isang plea bargain for a lesser offense," Roque said at a press conference in Quezon City. Roque said Zaldy's revelations were “part of a well orchestrated campaign to exonerate Zaldy from the murder charges." He said Zaldy could either demand for immunity from charges or a plea bargain in which he could plead guilty to a lesser offense. Lacierda, meanwhile, said the prosecutors’ threat to resign if Zaldy will be turned state witness is premature. “I think they were misled or misinformed. There is no request from Zaldy Ampatuan to be a state witness so premature ‘yon," he said. - KBK, GMA News