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Friday, March 29, 2024

Mangudadatu to quit post if main massacre suspects walk

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Maguindanao Rep. Esmael Mangudadatu said Friday he would resign from Congress if the accused in the Ampatuan Massacre case are not convicted.

Mangudadatu to quit post if main massacre suspects walk
REMEMBERING THE FORGOTTEN. Maguindanao Rep. Esmael Mangudadatu offers a prayer Friday at the Ampatuan Massacre marker in front of the National Press Club in Manila, a few days before the 10th anniversary of the Nov. 23, 2009 massacre. More than 50 people, including 32 journalists, were killed in the massacre. Norman Cruz

Mangudadatu also said he expected the court to rule in favor of victims of the massacre in Maguindanao, a decade-old case labeled as one of the worst election-related mass killings in the country.

“We expect that before December 20, there will be a promulgation that will favor the victims of the Maguindanao Massacre,” Mangudadatu said at the National Press Club in Manila, where he lit candles and prayed at a marker dedicated to the journalists killed in the Mindanao province.

On Nov. 23, 2009, the wife of Mangudadatu, her sister, lawyer and other relatives, and 38 journalists were on their way to Shariff Aguak to watch him file his certificate of candidacy for the gubernatorial race in the 2010 local elections.

That was when armed groups attacked them, killed them and even buried some of them alive on the orders of the Ampatuan patriarch, the late Maguindanao Gov. Andal Ampatuan Sr. and his children.

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Mangudadatu said no one among the major suspects should escape responsibility.

He said an adverse ruling would be unacceptable.

“Its a heart-trending to see our youngest cope with the loss,” Mangudadatu said.

He said he had forgiven the killers at the urging of his children during the 10th anniversary of the mass killing.

Mangudadatu added he respected the decision of the Quezon City Regional Trial Court to seek a 30-day extension after the case was submitted for resolution.

“Let’s not rush it. Maybe the judge wants to be careful in handing down the decision, he said.

READ: Maguindanao massacre kin seek more time to go to Manila

READ: Mangudadatu lauds court decision to junk Ampatuan plea

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