Maguindanao 2nd district Rep. Esmael “Toto” Mangudadatu welcomed on Wednesday the recent junking of “Maguindanao massacre” prime suspect Datu Andal “Unsay” Ampatuan Jr.’s motion before the court to reopen the trial of what has been dubbed the single deadliest attack on journalists in history.
In a ruling issued by Judge Jocelyn Solis-Reyes of the Quezon City Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 221, she denied for lack of merit Datu Unsay’s motion to reopen the trial along with his motion to suspend the scheduled promulgation of judgment of the long-running case.
“I am relieved with the junking of the motion. We have been patiently waiting for the verdict. It has been 10 long, debilitating years but we remain optimistic that justice will be ours,” Mangudadatu said in a statement.
Systematically executed by members of a private armed group on November 23, 2009 in Shariff Aguak, Maguindanao, were 58 people, 32 of whom were media practitioners.
Bai Genalyn, Mangundadatu’s wife, was one the victims of the carnage.
” Hindi madali para sa aming mga nawalan ng mahal sa buhay ang maghintay ng ganito katagal.
“At some point, some of us have lost faith that we will ever see justice. But God has been good in making us realize that the wait will be all worth it,” said Mangudadatu.
Last August, the Department of Justice (DoJ) announced that verdict will be rendered before the 10th anniversary of the infamous massacre after the prosecution panel had presented more than sufficient evidence to warrant a conviction, at least against the principal accused in the case.
The sheer number of respondents in the case — 197 in all, including key members of the Ampatuan family — has prevented the conduct of a speedy trial.
Then earlier this month, Datu Unsay, through his lawyer Paul Laguata, filed a motion claiming that the prosecution’s primary witness, former Vice Mayor Sakurno Badal, has supposedly sent fillers to Datu Unsay’s camp allegedly expressing his willingness to recant his testimony.
To answer the allegation, the prosecution presented Badal last October 17 to court where he denied the recantation claims of the Ampatuan camp.
Badal, a suspect-turned-state-witness, testified that as early as 2009, the Ampatuan clan has been plotting to eliminate Mangundadatu after the latter conveyed his interest to run against Datu Unsay for Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) gubernatorial seat.
The Ampatuans and Mangudadatus are fierce political rivals in Maguindanao.
He also testified that during the day of the massacre, he overheard the late Andal Ampatuan Sr., then incumbent Maguindanao governor, order Datu Unsay to kill everyone, including members of the media who were covering the filing of Mangudadatu’s candidacy via his wife.
Badal even stressed that he made a decision a long time ago that he will never withdraw or change his testimonies even if it costs him his life.
“It is not new to me for the suspects to resort to such tactics. But I will remain steadfast in trusting that justice shall prevail and that the system is working for the just,” Mangudadatu said. (Ellson A. Quismorio)
