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Massacre widow wants Zaldy cited for contempt over hospital stay


(Updated 3:02 p.m.) A private prosecutor in the Maguidnanao massacre case on Thursday asked the court to cite in contempt murder suspect Rizaldy "Zaldy" Ampatuan for allegedly violating court order regarding his medical checkup. Aside from Zaldy, lawyer Harry Roque said Quezon City Jail Annex warden Chief Inspector Edgar Camus should also be cited for contempt for allowing Zaldy to spend the night at the Philippine Heart Center in Quezon City. "Hindi ordinary case (ito), special case," said Roque, who represents families of 15 of the 32 journalists killed in the massacre on November 23, 2009. Roque filed the complaint on behalf of his client Editha Tiamzon, wife of UNTV's Daniel Tiamzon. Camus told GMA News Online that he cannot comment on the issue yet because he has not yet received a copy of the complaint. Speaking to reporters at the Department of Justice, Sec. Leila de Lima should not have been allowed to stay at the hospital as she insisted that the Quezon City court only allowed Zaldy to acquire outpatient status. "He is supposed to be an outpatient. I think the court should clarify the outpatient status because the lawyers of Zaldy were insisting that the doctor has a certification he had to undergo a series of tests," De Lima said. She added she wanted to clarify if the doctor who examined Zaldy was a private or a government doctor. Zaldy, the suspended governor of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), is one of the 197 suspects in the killing of 57 people in Maguindanao in November 2009. A 58th victim is still missing. Aside from filing the contempt petitions before the Quezon City Regional Trial Court, Roque also filed an opposition to Zaldy's new request for hospital confinement. "Malinaw na mali ang ginawa niya. Malinaw na for medical examination lang dapat," Roque told reporters at the Quezon City Hall of Justice on Thursday. On Thursday, Zaldy's camp also submitted Zaldy's medical abstract and notarized documents from attending physician Danny Kuizon in compliance with Solis-Reyes instructions before hearing Zaldy's request for confinement. In his medical abstract, Kuizon said Zaldy is suffering from acute coronary syndrome and chest pains "accompanied by difficulty of breathing and easy fatiguability." In a seven page-petition, Roque said, "It is most respectfully prayed that the Honorable Court to hold Zaldy Ampatuan and QC Jail Annex OIC in indirect contempt of court for violating the Honorable Court's expressed order July 20, 2011." Roque was referring to the court's order that disallowed hospital confinement for Zaldy and only allowed medical check-up. The Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 221 has already been designated earlier as a "special court" to handle all Maguindanao massacre-related petitions. However, Roque explained that court procedures require him to file the petition first before the clerk of court, which would raffle it off. State witness Meanwhile, Roque reiterated their camp's opposition to turn Zaldy into a state witness. He expressed fears that Judge Jocelyn Solis-Reyes "could lose custody over Zaldy" once the suspect is placed under the Witness Protection Program. Talks about Zaldy becoming a state witness circulated after Zaldy offered to testify against his father, Andal Amaptuan Sr., his brother, Andal Jr., and other members of their clan. However, the Department of Justice (DOJ) said Ampatuan is not qualified to become a state witness in the Maguindanao massacre case, where members of his family stand as the principal suspects. Zaldy has not yet presented to the DOJ a formal request to become a state witness. - with Sophia Dedace/VVP/KBK, GMA News
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