“Ordinary people like me do not understand why our judicial system is
like this. Can it be reformed? It is difficult to accept it would take
20 years or 200 years for the case to be resolved.”
By RONALYN V. OLEA
Bulatlat.com
MANILA — Grace Morales, 35, lost a husband and a sister in a massacre
that took place on November 23, 2009 and claimed the lives of 58
individuals, 32 of whom are journalists.
Her husband Rosell of News Focus left her with three children, now
aged 13, eleven and eight. Her sister Marites Cablitas left behind three
children. “At that time, I did not know what to do. Two of my loved
ones were killed. Who should I console first, my mother-in-law, my own
children or my nieces and my nephew,” Morales told the fellows of the
Graciano Lopez Jaena Workshop at the University of the Philippines in
Diliman.
Morales, along with the other families of slain journalists, filed
cases against the suspects, members of the powerful and influential
Ampatuan clan who have been reigning in Maguindanao province. Barely a
month before the massacre marks its second year, the trial has still
been grinding slowly.
Almost two years after the Ampatuan massacre, the trial is locked up
in bail proceedings, with 48 suspects filing petitions for bail, said
lawyer Prima Quinsayas of the Freedom Fund for Filipino Journalists
(FFFJ). Of the 196 suspects in the carnage of 58 individuals, including
32 journalists, only two have been arraigned so far.
“Even under Aquino’s administration, we are not moving,” Quinsayas said. “So much for Aquino’s promises…”
Recently, the court granted the motion filed by lawyers of Datu Unsay
and Maguindanao mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr. to present rebuttal evidence
to the opposition filed by the prosecution against Unsay’s petition for
bail.
“This is unusual. The general rule is that it is only the prosecution
that presents evidence during bail proceedings because it has to prove
the strong probability of guilt to oppose the petition,” Quinsayas said.
The defense, said Quinsayas, cited only one Supreme Court decision to
justify its petition. Quinsayas argued that the particular jurisprudence
being cited by the defense is not applicable to the circumstances of
the Ampatuan case.
In the same forum, Justice Undersecretary Francisco Baraan III
described the recent developments in the case as “disturbing.” He said
that under the rules of court, petitions for bail should be summary and
the defense can file petitions for bail if the evidence of guilt is
weak.
“We are confident that it will be denied. The evidence against Andal
is very strong. In a surprising turn of events, the court granted the
right [of the accused] to submit rebuttal evidence,” Baraan said. “That
will delay the resolution of the case.”
“Can you imagine the court allowing all the 40 plus [suspects] to
present rebuttal evidence?” Quinsayas said. “Unfortunately, we have to
work with the rules of court. The Supreme Court is not very open to the
idea of revising the rules of court,” Quinsayas said.
Editha Tiamzon, widow of UNTV driver Daniel Tiamzon, one of the
victims of the Ampatuan massacre, said, “We find the trial very slow.
Even if hearings are held twice a week, it is as though nothing is
happening. We are not satisfied. Two years has passed and still, we see
no light.”....
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Source: Bulatlat.com
URL:
http://bulatlat.com/main/2011/10/26/kin-of-victims-bewail-slow-maguindanao-massacre-trial/