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2 more kin of Maguindanao massacre victims seek P38M damages


Relatives of two victims in the November 2009 Maguindanao massacre on Thursday took the witness stand to seek damages totaling to more than P38 million for the grisly deaths of their loved ones. The first to take the stand was Emily Lopez, cousin of media worker Arturo Betia. She submitted a judicial affidavit instead of detailing in court the events prior to the massacre. Lopez asked for P11 million in moral damages. She likewise sought almost P1.7 million, which she said her cousin could have earned if he were still alive. Like Lopez, private complainant Lumangal Sabddula submitted a judicial affidavit in seeking almost P26 million in damages for his wife Farida Sabddula. Farida was the cousin of Maguindanao Gov. Esmael Mangudadatu, another private complainant. He lost his wife and two sisters in the carnage blamed on the Mangudadatus' rival clan, the Ampatuans. A total of 57 people were killed in the massacre, including 32 journalists. Sabddula said they spent P404,000 for the burial, interment, and miscellaneous expenses for his wife's death. He shelled out an additional P100,000 for the expenses he incurred to observe the 40th day since she died as well as her first death anniversary. Though stressing that no amount of money could replace his wife's death, Lumangal asked for P15 million in moral damages and P10 million more "for the life of my wife that was lost in the massacre." The defense asked Sabdula to present receipts that would prove his expenses, but the witness said it was "not customary in Muslim culture to issue receipts." On Wednesday, the mother of slain journalist Joy Duhay sought P15 million in damages for the massacre — P10 million for moral damages and P5 million for exemplary damages. — Mark D. Merueñas/KBK, GMA News

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