Maguindanao massacre suspect cries mistaken identity

A man claiming to be a victim of mistaken identity will remain an accused in the high-profile Maguindanao massacre case. This was after Judge Jocelyn Solis-Reyes of the Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 221 denied the motion filed by Richard "Rey" Gofel seeking a "judicial determination of identity" to prove he is not Fahad Utto, one of the 197 suspects in the massacre of 57 people, including 32 journalists, on Nov. 23, 2009. Utto was among the members of the supposed private army of the Ampatuan clan, the powerful family implicated in the massacre. To prove he was not Utto, Gofel's camp tried presenting as witness his co-accused PO1 Esprilieto Lejarso. However, Lejarso's legal counsel, Adilberto Golla, refused to let his client testify for Gofel, saying his "testimony will only incriminate my client." "With no other witnesses [for Gofel], the court is swayed to deny such motion subject to the filing of another motion," Solis-Reyes said before ending Wednesday's hearing at Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig City. Gofel was arrested in Sitio Minanga in Barangay Buayan in Shariff Aguak last August 18. He said he is a fish vendor and not a member of the Civilian Volunteer Organization (CVO). Gofel's lawyer, Chalmer Gevieso, said they will just have to file another motion questioning the Philippine National Police-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (PNP-CIDG), which arrested Gofel. Gofel earlier secured a writ of habeas corpus from a General Santos City court, ordering authorities to release him from police custody. Gevieso, who filed the habeas corpus request, told Solis-Reyes that they sought relief from the General Santos City court because they did not know that the Quezon City court already has assumed jurisdiction over Gofel, who is now detained at Camp Bagong Diwa. Private prosecutor Nena Santos said the General Santos City cannot order Solis-Reyes to release Gofel because the two courts are "co-equal." She also noted that the Supreme Court has designated Solis-Reyes’ court as the sole handler of all pleadings related to the Maguindanao massacre. - Mark D. Merueñas/KBK, GMA News