Victims’ kin appear in court; suspect arraigned

CMFR/Philippines – The kin of three Ampatuan Massacre victims—Alejandro Reblando, Jr., Femy Momay, and Cielo Birzuela—took the witness stand during the ongoing trial of the accused masterminds and killers last 27 February 2014.  Another suspect was arraigned during the same hearing.

Alejandro Reblando Jr., took the witness stand in his mother’s place to present his own testimony. Myrna Reblando, widow of massacre victim Alejandro “Bong” Reblando Sr., a reporter for the Manila Bulletin newspaper, was unable to appear in court. The court ordered Myrna’s 2012 testimony to be stricken off the record.

In 2010, CMFR reported Myrna and her family receiving death threats.

Alejandro Sr. and 57 others, 32 of whom were journalists and media workers, were killed on 23 November 2009 in the worst election-related incident of violence and the worst attack on journalists in the Philippines in Ampatuan town, Maguindanao province.

Femy Momay, wife of victim Reynaldo Momay, and Cielo Birzuela, daughter of victim Concepcion Birzuela, also took the witness stand.

Reynaldo was a photojournalist for the newspaper Midland Review, while Concepcion was a human rights lawyer.

Suspect Abas Anongan was arraigned and pled not guilty to all 58 counts of murder. The police notified the court of Anongan’s arrest on Monday, 24 February.

Four years after the massacre, only 109 accused are in custody out of a total 197 suspects, and only 105 have been arraigned.