The Ampatuan family has asked President Rodrigo Duterte to intercede in the case of Datu Saudi Ampatuan Jr., one of the suspects in the 2009 Maguindanao Massacre who remains at large.
A letter from the Office of the President showed that Jehan-Jehan Ampatuan-Lepail and Bai Soraida Biruar-Ampatuan requested a meeting with President Duterte “any day” in July this year, but the matter was referred to Duterte’s spokesman and chief legal counsel Salvador Panelo.
Jehan-Jehan is Saudi’s wife while Soraida is his mother.
“Unfortunately, the President will not be able to meet the proponents due to his hectic schedule and in view of the engagements that require his utmost attention. In this regard, may we respectfully refer this matter to your office for appropriate action,” the letter dated July 17 read.
The referral came from the Office of the President-Appointments Office, which was sent to the Office of the Chief Presidential Legal Counsel.
Based from the security logbook of the New Executive Building, the Ampatuans met Panelo on Aug. 13.
Panelo, in a news conference Thursday, said the Ampatuan kin sought President Duterte’s “intercession,” but later clarified that the family wanted guidance on what to do with Saudi.
“His siblings are tried, but he is at large. And they are claiming that he is innocent. I said: Why not surrender?’ Of course, they don’t want to because his siblings are detained. The trial is not yet done. So, they are asking the intercession of the President,” Panelo said in the press briefing.
Later, he said: “Not intervene. They asked for help. They ask help on what to do. Surrender him (Saudi). Very simple.”
Saudi was one of the accused in the 2009 massacre in Maguindanao province where 58 people were slaughtered, 32 of which were journalists.
Panelo was the counsel of Andal Ampatuan Jr. on the case of the Maguindanao Massacre, which is considered the deadliest single attack on journalists in the world.
Hundreds of suspects, including several members of the Ampatuan clan, were charged with murder. Nine years after the massacre, no one has been convicted.
Initially, only Andal “Unsay” Ampatuan Jr. was the named accused before the trial court and he was positively identified by witnesses to have led the attack.
Other Ampatuan clan members, police officers, and Civilian Volunteer Organization members were later included in the charge list for the murder of 57 (later 58 counts). This brought the number of the suspected masterminds and accomplices to nearly 200.
Panelo said there was nothing wrong with the Ampatuans seeking Duterte’s assistance because “everybody seeks… help.”
Before their meeting, Panelo said a member of the Ampatuan family had met with Duterte in Davao.
“The President said—I heard him—Wait for the judgment of the court. It’s now up to the court,” Panelo said.
Panelo was criticized recently for meeting with the family of convicted rapist and murderer, former mayor Antonio Sanchez, his former client, who sought executive clemency.
READ: Panelo cleared of wrongdoing in Sanchez case
He referred the request to the Board of Pardons and Paroles.
Duterte on Wednesday night said there was nothing wrong with what Panelo did.
READ: Panelo cleared of wrongdoing in Sanchez case
But opposition Senator Risa Hontiveros said Panelo should be investigated for acting in a preferential way that benefited Sanchez.
“He reportedly met with the Sanchez family twice in Malacañang, and even used his position to refer Sanchez’s request for clemency to the Board of Pardons and Parole,” Hontiveros said.
“No wonder Sanchez almost got out. Is Panelo as accommodating to the families of the poorer convicts?” she said in a mix of English and Filipino.
But Senator Juan Edgardo Angara considered Panelo’s referral of Sanchez’s application for executive clemency a gray area.
“It seemed to me like he was asking the jail officials if this guy was already eligible for executive clemency, which is another thing from good conduct time allowance,” he said.
Panelo was also a lawyer for Sanchez in his rape-murder case.
