Ampatuan (Maguindanao) Massacre Trial Update: Accused in Ampatuan Massacre asks court to dismiss charges against him

SAJID ISLAM Ampatuan, one of the accused in the November 2009 killing of 57 (58 if missing Reynaldo Momay is included) persons including 32 journalists and media workers in Ampatuan town, Maguindanao, has filed through his counsel an Omnibus Motion to dismiss the charges against him.

The former acting Maguindanao governor said that the Information filed against him should be “quashed for lack of legal and factual bases and/or lack of jurisdiction.”

Sajid Islam also asked the court to subpoena witness Kenny Dalandag to testify in connection with his motion to dismiss the charges. Dalandag said in his affidavit that Sajid Islam was present during a 22 November 2009 meeting in which the Ampatuans and their supporters allegedly finalized their plan to intercept the convoy of relatives and lawyers of a candidate for governor of Maguindanao and the media people with them.

The prosecution has yet to file its comment.

In its 5 February 2010 joint resolution, the investigating panel of prosecutors (of the Department of Justice) did note that Sajid Islam “vehemently denies what he calls Kenny Dalandag’s fabricated statement that he attended a meeting on November 22, 2009 at his father’s (Andal Ampatuan Sr.) house in Shariff Aguak, Maguindanao.” The investigating panel added that: “He states that he spent the whole afternoon of that day supervising the cleaning and repairs of the municipal office of Shariff Saydona Mustapha and thereafter spent the night in the company of his wife and in-laws.”

New petition for bail

Meanwhile, the court set the hearing on the petition for bail filed by Misuari Ampatuan, Mohades Ampatuan, Moactar Daud and Macton Bilungan for 8 June 2011. Counsel Andres Manuel filed the bail petition in behalf of his clients.

The Philippine Daily Inquirer reported last 14 April 2011 that “Accused further submit that there is a necessity of conducting bail hearings to show the weakness of the prosecution’s evidence against them and so as to allow them to regain their liberty upon posting of their respective bonds while the present cases are being heard.”

BJMP physician’s recommendation

The physician of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) explained in a 12 May 2011 letter why she recommended that Andal Ampatuan Sr. be brought to the Makati Medical Center for “further evaluation and management” and not to a tertiary government hospital.

In a 12 May 2011 letter, BJMP physician Chief Inspector Ma. Victoria Valeria said that upon her 4 May 2011 examination she found out that Andal Sr. has been taking “medication/treatment already prescribed to him by his attending physician Glenn Santos of the Makati Medical Center.”

“[Andal Sr.] (has been)taking this medication for 19 days already and still patient has swelling of his left ankle joint, accompanied by pain, tenderness and limitation of movement upon walking,” she said, adding that “Accused is therefore referred to his attending physician for further evaluation and management which will require laboratory work-ups.”

Judge Jocelyn Solis-Reyes in a 9 May 2011 order asked the BJMP doctor to explain “the reason why she referred said accused to Dr. Glenn Santos of the Makati Medical Center, a private hospital.” The court also asked her to “immediately inform the court…the treatment/appropriate medication she had prescribed to help relieve accused…from his medical problem.”

Andal Sr., through his counsels, filed last 29 April 2011 an urgent motion asking to be examined by a doctor. The patriarch “respectfully moves for his immediate referral to and confinement in any government tertiary hospital as he has been suffering from sharp, continuous pain in his swollen right leg and foot that may be caused by his recurring prostate ailment.”

The court last 2 May 2011 ordered the QC City Jail-Annex OIC to have Andal Sr. be checked by a BJMP doctor before it acts on the request of the accused to be brought to a “tertiary government hospital”.

The prosecution filed 6 May 2011 a comment “vehemently object(ing)” the motion of Andal Sr. to be hospitalized. In its three-page comment, the prosecution said “(t)here is high level of risk that accused Andal Ampatuan Sr. will flee, if his request to be confined to a government tertiary hospital is granted.”

“(T)he timing of the Urgent Motion of the accused is highly questionable,” said the prosecution adding that Andal Sr.’s arraignment might be set within the next few weeks.

Arraignment

The court had to reset the arraignment of former Sultan Sa Barongis town vice-mayor Sukarno Badal after the Witness Protection Program (WPP) failed to bring the accused to court last 12 May 2011. Badal surrendered to Justice Sec. Leila de Lima in late 2010, and is now under the custody of the Justice department’s WPP.

The judge said she issued a commitment order to the WPP director to produce Badal for the arraignment. WPP director Martin Meñez attended the 11 May 2011 hearing, but was not present on 12 May 2011. Badal’s arraignment was reset to 25 May 2011.

Meanwhile, the court held in abeyance the arraignment of Nasser Maliguia (a.k.a. Ramon Maliguia) and Butukan Malang (a.k.a. Datukan Malang Salibo) after their respective counsels’ manifestation that their clients were wrongly identified and charged in the Informations.

Salibo’s counsel, Paris Real, asked the court to suspend the arraignment pending his client’s motion to quash the Information against him. Real said his client is not the Butukan Malang mentioned in the Information. The counsel claimed that his client was not in the Philippines during the time of the massacre; and that his name was only entered into court records after he surrendered to the Datu Hoffer police when he found out that he was being charged for murder as “Butukan S. Malang”.

Maliguia’s counsel also said that the Nasser Maliguia named in the Information and the detained Ramon Maliguai are two different persons. Maliguia, represented by Laguindab Morohombsar of the Public Attorney’s Office, said the court and prosecution can compare the photo of Nasser in the DOJ records with the photo of the detained Ramon Maliguai. Morohombsar will file his motion within ten days from 12 May.

On 11 May 2011, the court had to enter a plea of “not guilty” for three accused—Maot Bangkulat, Salik Bangkulat and Salipada Tampogao (alleged members of the Civilian Volunteer Organization)—after they refused to enter any plea when asked during their arraignment.

Testimony of last medico-legal officer ends

The defense lawyers continued their cross-examination of the testimony of medico-legal officer and Region 12 SOCO chief Police Chief Inspector Raymond Cabling.

Cabling was asked to explain his reasons for taking photographs of the crime scene despite the presence of the SOCO official photographer (PO2 Richard Santuele). Cabling explained that: “Due to the size and magnitude of the crime scene, I believe there was a need to supplement (his photos).”

Defense counsels questioned the SOCO team’s lack of permit from the Department of Health to exhume the bodies. They also interrogated Cabling on how the SOCO team processed the crime scene.

Real questioned Cabling on the possibility of subjecting tissues and other evidence gathered from the cadavers to microscopic tests and gunpowder tracing. Manuel also asked why Cabling did “not indicate the existence of blood and water in the thoracic region” of some cadavers. They also grilled Cabling about two typographical errors in the anatomical diagrams he prepared.

The doctor, however, pointed out that the points raised by the defense had no effect on his medico-legal findings, particularly on his conclusion as to the cause of death of the victims, which is multiple gunshot wounds.

Other SOCO team members testify

On 11 May and 12 May 2011, other members of Region 12’s (SOCSKSARGEN) Scene of the Crime Operations (SOCO) team—which secured and processed the massacre site from the evening of 23 November 2009 until the late afternoon of 24 November 2009—testified on what they saw on the hilltops of Sitio Masalay, Barangay Salman, Ampatuan town, Maguindanao.

PO1 Rodimer Daproza testified on the state and whereabouts of the objects, vehicles and documents gathered at the crime scene. Daproza presented in court their SOCO Evidence Logbook, which had an inventory of what the SOCO-Region 12 team recovered from the crime scene as well as by the medico-legal officers from the cadavers.

PO2 Santuele, the designated SOCO photographer, started his presentation of 87 photos in the afternoon of 12 May 2011. Before the day ended, to speed up the presentation, the prosecution and defense agreed to compare the photos taken by Santuele with the photos shown during Cabling’s testimony.