Filtered By: Topstories
News

4 more Maguindanao massacre suspects identified in court


A witness in the Maguindanao massacre positively identified during Thursday’s hearing four militiamen who allegedly participated in the carnage that left 57 people dead, 32 of them journalists. Haical Mangacop, a farmer, told Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 221 Judge Jocelyn Solis-Reyes that he was asked by one Esmael Amil Enog to accompany him in driving dozens of militiamen from Shariff Aguak town to a checkpoint in Ampatuan town where the victims where later flagged down before being killed. Enog had earlier told the court that he brought 36 armed men in two batches. On Thursday, Mangacop said he accompanied Enog only during the first trip at about 6 a.m. of Nov. 23, 2009, the day of the massacre. Asked if he could identify anyone inside the makeshift courtroom inside Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig City as being among the armed men they brought to Barangay Salman, Mangacop stood up and approached the gallery. After staring at the faces of the suspects, Mangacop pointed to four people and identified them by their names:

  • Nasrodin Esmael;
  • Moactar Daud;
  • Tayao Bangkulat; and
  • Salik Bangkulat It was the first time that a witness did not only point to a suspect but also told the court their names and got them right. In the past, witnesses only pointed to a suspect and a court staff would ask the person being pointed at to announce his name. Upon returning to the witness stand, Mangacop said he knew Daud because the latter was a known member of the private army of the Ampatuans, the clan implicated in the massacre. The witness said he knew Esmael because they were neighbors and childhood friends. He also explained that he knew Tayao and Salik because the two are brothers who used to live with him when they wee still children. After Mangacop's testimony, defense lawyers once more deferred their cross-examination of the witness, just like they did with an earlier witness, farmer Satar Maliwawaw. In both cases, the prosecution did not inform the defense that Maliwawaw and Mangacop were being presented next. As a result, the defense said it was not able to prepare its cross-examination and therefore asked for more time. The court allowed defense lawyers to cross-examine Mangacop when trial resumes on September 7. — KBK, GMA News
  • LOADING CONTENT