Zubiri resignation proves Zaldy's credibility – lawyer

Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri's resignation shows Zaldy Ampatuan's claim of poll fraud in the 2004 and 2007 elections has basis after all. Zaldy's legal counsel in the Maguindanao massacre case Howard Calleja made the observation after Zubiri resigned as senator Wednesday, amid allegations the lawmaker from Bukidnon benefited from the supposed vote padding in Mindanao in the 2007 mid-term polls. "[Zaldy] is vindicated. It shows his credibility, sincerity and truthfulness," Calleja told reporters Thursday. Zaldy recently dropped a "bomb shell" after expressing his intention to cooperate with government and volunteer his knowledge about the 2009 Maguindanao massacre as well as the alleged poll fraud in the 2004 and 2007 elections in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM). Tagged as one of the main suspects in the Maguindanao massacre, Zaldy has been suspended as ARMM governor. Calleja said Zaldy's revelations could have been, in one way or the other, a factor in Zubiri's decision to resign. "This shows that the governor's quest for truth is on the good side. It has come out with credible result," the lawyer added. While maintaining the defense camp has never made a deal with the Aquino administration, Calleja appealed to the President Benigno Aquino III to consider Zaldy's statements. "If the Aquino administration will only listen and show openness... there could be more benefits that could come out of his [Zaldy's] voluntary statements," Calleja said. Zaldy, including his father and two brothers, as well as more than 100 local policemen and supposed private militiamen are facing multiple murder charges for the killing of 57 people (mostly journalists) at an isolated hilly portion of Barangay Salman in Ampatuan town, Maguindanao, on November 23, 2009. Zaldy has insisted on his innocence, maintaining that he was not present in the meetings when the massacre was supposedly hatched – as claimed by several prosecution witnesses. Zaldy's request to be removed from the charge sheet is still pending before the Court of Appeals. — LBG, GMA News