The alleged masterminds of the Philippines’ worst political massacre will learn their fate Thursday when a Quezon City court issues its verdict, in a test of the justice system for a nation with a deep-seated culture of impunity.
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A decade ago, 58 people, including 32 media workers, were slaughtered and dumped into roadside pits during an attack that was also one of the world’s worst mass killings of journalists.
Amid international outrage, the slaughter cast a harsh spotlight on the Philippines’ deep-seated problems of all-powerful political dynasties, easy access to guns and official impunity.
Victims’ families have endured a trial of 101 defendants marred by allegations of bribery, defense delays, the murder of several witnesses and a fear that the still-powerful accused could be acquitted.
A guilty verdict “will be a strong signal to human rights abusers that they can’t always get away with murder,” researcher Carlos Conde of New York-based Human Rights Watch said.
“A not guilty verdict would be catastrophic for the cause of human rights and justice,” he said, adding acquittal would signal to warlords “that it’s business as usual, that they can continue using violence, intimidation, and corruption to rule their communities.”
Leaders of the powerful Ampatuan family, who ruled the impoverished southern province of Maguindanao, are charged with organizing the Nov. 23, 2009 mass killing in a bid to quash an election challenge from a rival clan.
Lawyers representing many of the victims’ families said the 101 defendants, who have pleaded not guilty, face up to 30 years in prison without parole if convicted of even one of the 58 murders.
The brazen attack was carried out in broad daylight on a convoy carrying an Ampatuan family rival’s wife, relatives, lawyers, and the journalists, who were killed in a hail of gunfire.
The murders exposed how then-President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo had tolerated the Ampatuans’ heavily armed militia as a buffer against Muslim rebels in the south.
Even routine court cases can take years to make it through the Philippine justice system, which is notoriously overburdened, underfunded and vulnerable to pressure from the powerful.
This case is no exception, and victims families have long worried the Ampatuans, who continue to wield political power and influence, could avoid convictions.
Ten clan members remain in jail but another is out on bail along with 10 other defendants, while the charges against eight other defendants have been dropped.
“We are hoping and praying that we will get a fair judgement,” said Mary Grace Morales, whose sister and husband were among 32 journalists killed.
“They [Ampatuans] have power… they have money,” she said. “They can pay many lawyers to handle their cases.”
Out of the original 197 suspects, 80 remain at large including 15 members of the Ampatuan clan.
The Ampatuans meanwhile won 25 local seats in May’s elections including Sajid Ampatuan, a defendant in the massacre case who was released on bail.
A lawyer for the families of the victims said press freedom would be dead if no conviction is handed down this week.
“It’s very important in our justice system because this will show if there will be conviction, the impunity will be cut off,” said lawyer Nena Santos on ANC’s Early Edition.
“It’s very important for families of the victims because after 10 years we will be able to get the verdict that we wanted to. We’re very hopeful we have a conviction among the accused in trial.”
Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra on Tuesday said state prosecutors did their best to effectively prosecute the accused in the mass murder of 58 people.
Guevarra declined to comment on the judgment that will be rendered by Judge Jocelyn Solis-Reyes of Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 221 but said the prosecutors presented all the evidence to pin down the accused.
Reyes has set the promulgation of the judgement of the Maguindanao massacre case at 9 a.m. on Thursday, Dec. 19, inside the Quezon City Jail Annex located inside Camp Bagong Diwa, Taguig City.
On Nov. 23, 2009, a convoy with mostly female passengers on their way to Shariff Aguak town in Maguindanao to file the certificate of candidacy of then Maguindanao gubernatorial candidate Esmael Mangudadatu was ambushed by about 100 armed men.
The victims were shot to death execution-style, and their bodies were dumped into a shallow mass grave on a hilly portion of Sitio Masalay, Barangay Salman, Ampatuan town in Maguindanao.
Murder cases were originally filed against 197 accused, 15 of them with the Ampatuan surname.
A total of 117 people have been arrested including prominent members of the Ampatuan clan. Seven of them died while in detention, including former Maguindanao governor Andal Ampatuan Sr.
Eighty of them, including Datu Saudi Ampatuan Jr., are still at large.
Malacañang on Tuesday expressed hopes that justice would prevail.
“The court will decide on the basis of evidence so we hope that justice will be given to parties especially to prosecution,” Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo said.
Awaiting sentence are prime suspect Datu Andal “Unsay” Ampatuan Jr. and 100 others out of 197 accused. Among them, 90 are detained while 11 are out on bail.
Hundreds of suspects, including several members of the Ampatuan clan, were charged with murder.
Panelo used to be the counsel of Ampatuan Jr. who was 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. With AFP
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