Key witness vs Ampatuans received death threat — lawyer

A long-time househelp of the Ampatuan family who testified in the Maguindanao massacre trial received a death threat Tuesday, a prosecution lawyer said Thursday. Nena Santos, legal counsel for private complainant Maguindanao Gov. Esmael "Toto" Mangudadatu, said Lakmodin Saliao received a call last Tuesday from a person who threatened him against further testifying in the high-profile massacre trial. "Ang sabi nung tumawag, 'Tumigil ka na sa ginagawa mo kasi mapapareho ka kay Toto,'" Santos told GMA News Online in an interview. Last August 15, Mangudadatu's birthday turned bloody after a car bomb attack hit his convoy in Tacurong City, Sultan Kudarat. He was unhurt, but two people, one of them Maguindanao board member Datu Russman Sinsuat Sr., were killed. Santos said the call Saliao received could be considered a death threat. "Ang final analysis sa bombing kay Toto is that there was an intention to kill. So the call to Saliao only meant, they will kill at whatever means," she said. Santos said the call could have been made by "one of the principal suspects and masterminds" in the massacre case. A total of 57 people were killed in the Nov. 23, 2009 carnage, including Mangudadatu's wife and two sisters. The Mangudadatus are a rival clan of the Ampatuans. Among the main suspects in the massacre case are Andal Ampatuan Sr., the clan patriarch, and his sons Andal Jr., Zaldy, and Sajid. Santos said death threats and bribe attempts have been plaguing both private complainants and witnesses in the massacre case. "The threats to their lives [are] actual," she said. Santos said she already advised Saliao to change his phone number. If ever, this will be the second time Saliao will be doing so. Prior to the death threat, a caller offered him P5 million to back out of the massacre proceedings, Santos said. Santos said she plans to have Saliao testify anew before Judge Jocelyn Solis-Reyes of the Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 221, this time about the death threat he received. "We just want the judge to be aware of what's happening outside the court room." The lawyer also said her camp would be stressing to the judge the importance of letting a witness undergo the complete and uninterrupted procedure of being directly examined and cross-examined. Santos, on Wednesday, criticized the defense for withholding their cross-examination of a policeman-witness who placed the statements of Dalandag on the police blotter. The defense said they first wanted to go over the contents of the three-inch thick blotter before cross-examining the witness. Santos expressed worries that a witness’ testimony would be rendered "without value, without weight, and pointless" if it does not get cross examined by the defense. — KBK, GMA News