DOJ junks murder raps vs Toto Mangudadatu

For lack of evidence, the Department of Justice has junked the murder charges filed against Maguindanao Gov. Esmael "Toto" Mangudadatu by the wife of a shooting victim. In a resolution signed by Undersecretary Leah Armamento last July, the DOJ said it made such a decision because the complainant, Nativided de Arce Kamendan, decided not to appeal the earlier dismissal of the murder suit. "Wherefore, the motion to withdraw appeal is hereby granted and the petition for review is considered withdrawn," the ruling stated. Pursuant to the Revised Manual for Prosecutors, an appeal or a petition for review may be withdrawn before an investigation is resolved. "In which case, the questioned resolution shall stand as if no appeal or petition has been taken,' the manual added. At a Davao City mall in February last year, alleged assailant Tamano Kamendan supposedly attempted to stage an ambush against Mangudadatu, who was then vice mayor of Buluan town in Maguindanao province. Mangudadatu’s police escorts — PO1 Ibrahim Langalen and PO1 Surab Lintukan Bantas — then fired at Kamendan, who forcibly took one of Mangudadatu’s daughters and attempted to snatch firearms from Bantas. Kamendan's wife then filed a complaint with the DOJ, which said that the charges against Mangudadatu of alleged complicity or conspiracy in the shooting to death of Kamendan had insufficient evidence. In a joint resolution, the DOJ on March 3, 2010 said that Natividad did not implicate Mangudadatu in her initial police statement. The DOJ also said that the witness who would corroborate Natividad's allegation likewise failed to appear before the panel despite the subpoena issued to her. Mangudadatu lost his wife, two sisters, and other political supporters in the gruesome Nov. 23, 2009 Maguidanao massacre, said to be the worst incident of political violence in Philippine history. Of the 57 fatalities, 32 were journalists. — Sophia Dedace/RSJ, GMA News