Justice for Maguindanao massacre victims before 2016 not guaranteed — Palace

Despite reiterating its solidarity with kin of the victims of the November 23, 2009 Maguindanao massacre, Malacañang on Sunday made no assurances that they would get justice before President Benigno Aquino III’s term ends. Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said that while the executive branch will make the needed moves to expedite the case in court, the decision of the courts is out of the Palace’s control. “Yan ang ating kagustuhan nguni’t we recognize the fact that the case is under process and it is something not necessarily under the jurisdiction of the Executive," she said on government-run dzRB radio, when asked if the victims' loved ones can expect justice before Aquino's term ends in 2016. “Nariyan ang korte na dumidinig, nagiging final arbiter sa kalalabasan ng kaso," she pointed out. Some media groups on Sunday kicked off a month-long commemoration leading to the second anniversary of the grisly massacre which left dead at least 57 people, including more than 30 journalists, in Ampatuan town in Maguindanao. Valte said the Palace acknowledges the passage of time will not ease the pain of loss for the relatives of the victims. “Ang iisipin nyo ho lagi kami ay narito at nagbabantay po kami sa pangyayari," she said. But she said Aquino has already instructed Justice Secretary Leila de Lima to do everything possible to expedite the case. “Ang puwede natin gawin sa parte ng Executive, i-expedite at bilisan at siguraduhing iwasan natin ang mga delay. [Pero] hindi natin mako-control ang ibang parte ng kasong sa ilalim ng ibang sangay ng pamahalaan," she added.—MRT/KBK, GMA News