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Maguindanao massacre trial stalled anew due to absent interpreter


For the second time this week, the Maguindanao massacre case hearing in Taguig City was suspended due to the absence of a court interpreter. Lawyer Rolando Abo, the lone court-designated interpreter in the high-profile trial, failed to show up again on Thursday. He already skipped Wednesday's hearing due to "fever, colds, and coughs." Judge Jocelyn Solis-Reyes of the Regional Trial Court Branch 221 said Abo did not inform the court why he could not make it to the trial. The prosecution later told reporters it received information that this time around, Abo was suffering from an "ear problem." For almost a year now, Abo has been the official court interpreter for witnesses who speak only Maguindanaoan when testifying, among them farmers Norodin Mauyag and Akmad Abubakar Esmael; and former militiaman Esmael Amil. Abo also interprets for suspects during their arraignment, including for Andal Ampatuan Sr., who has pleaded not guilty to the multiple murder charges. Abo's two-day absence has already delayed the arraignment of five more massacre suspects. Lawyer Sigfrid Fortun, legal counsel for principal suspects Andal Sr. and Andal Jr., said the court should have "foreseen" the incident and should have "anticipated the breakdown." "I am not blaming the court, you honor. Nobody blames you for that... [but] it puts the judiciary in a bad light," he said. In response, Solis-Reyes, who earlier assured both panels that she will coordinate with the Office of the Muslim Affairs, said the court was "doing its best." "These are not the only cases that we handle," Solis-Reyes reminded Fortun. Fortun replied: "But you have already been given special powers by the Supreme Court." The defense lawyer was referring to an earlier SC ruling designating Branch 221 as a "special court" that will handle all Maguindanao massacre-related petitions and motions, in exchange for relieving it of other non-related cases. "We have already executed our efforts... what else do you want," Solis-Reyes then responded. — RSJ, GMA News

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