MEDIA ORGANIZATIONS expressed dismay and distress over another ruling by the Quezon City court trying the Maguindanao Massacre case that they say would further delay the trial.
The Quezon City Regional Trail Court Branch 22 under Judge Jocelyn Solis-Reyes had deferred for the third time the arraignment of two more principal accused in the Maguindanao Massacre, after defense lawyers argued that they have pending petitions with the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeals.
Sajid Islam and Akmad “Tato” Ampatuan are charged with 58 counts of murder for the deaths of members of a party of Esmael Mangudadatu that was on the way to the provincial capitol to file his election papers in 2009. Sajid Islam is the son of Ampatuan patriarch Andal Ampatuan Sr., while Akmad “Tato” is the son-in-law of Andal Sr.
The two were supposed to have been arraigned on June 26, but the arraignment was deferred to July 3. The court later reset the arraignment to August 7.
The Freedom Fund for Filipino Journalists, a network of media organizations working for the protection of Filipino journalists, released a statement expressing dismay over the court deferment.
The group says the court has issued several other rulings that have further delayed the trial. This, the group says, is a clear indication that the court does not appreciate the importance of the trial.
“We are distrubed by the trial court’s decision, as we have been distressed by its and other courts’ past rulings that have delayed the trial,” the group said in a statement released to the media. “They are indications that the judicial system has not fully appreciated the significance of the massacre trial to the press, to democracy, and to the rest of the Filipino people.”
“It is part of a pattern that since 2010 has delayed the trial and is threatening to prolong it beyond the bounds of human endurance,” the group said.
For example, the group pointed out that former Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao governor Zaldy Ampatuan was only arraigned in December 2012, or three years after he was ordered arrested. “As in the case of his other accused kin, the delay was due to the argument that he had pending petitions before the CA and the SC.”
“Of the eight members of the Ampatuan clan among the principal accused, only four have been arraigned,” the group added. “No date has been set for the arraignment of Anwar Jr. and Anwar Sajid, the grandsons of Andal Ampatuan Sr.”
FFFJ: ONE MORE DELAY IN A LONG LIST OF DELAYS
The deferment of the arraignment of two of the principal accused in the November 23, 2009 Ampatuan town massacre adds to the already long list of delays in the judicial process that for four years have thrown one obstacle after another in the path of credibly concluding the trial of those accused. Justice for the victims is the only sign that would demonstrate to the killers of journalists and other citizens of this country that they cannot keep killing with impunity.
Sajid Islam and Akmad “Tato” of the Ampatuan clan are charged with 58 counts of murder. Sajid Islam is the son of Ampatuan patriarch Andal Sr. and was the Officer-in-Charge of the province of Maguindanao at the time of the massacre. Akmad “Tato” is the son-in-law of Andal Sr., who is also among the principal accused.
Sajid Islam and Akmad “Tato” were originally scheduled for arraignment on June 26, 2013. This was moved to July 3, 2013 when their defense counsel filed a motion seeking the deferment of their arraignment until their separate petitions before the Court of Appeals (CA) and the Supreme Court (SC) are resolved.
On July 2, 2013, the trial court denied the motion on the ground that the pendency of such petitions before the higher courts is not a ground for deferring arraignment.
Despite its own written order denying the motion, the trial court nevertheless granted the oral motion of the defense counsel of the two accused to have their arraignment postponed for another month. Their arraignment has been reset to August 7, 2013.
The defense counsel of Sajid Islam and Akmad “Tato” argued that for the two to be arraigned despite the pendency of their CA and SC petitions would violate their right to due process. He also claimed that the postponement will not damage or injure the People of the Philippines, the plaintiff in the 58 consolidated murder cases.
Sajid Islam and Akmad “Tato” were arrested early December 2009 right after then President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo placed Maguindanao under Martial Law. They were indicted on February 2010 for 56 counts of murder. On May 2010, they were also indicted in the 57th murder case, that involving the killing of Victor Nunez, and on June 2012 in the 58th case for the murder of Reynaldo Momay.
Like their fellow accused, both have availed of every possible legal remedy allowed under the law and the Rules of Court. They have repeatedly cited the pendency of their various petitions, motions and appeals to delay their arraignment.
Arraignment marks the completion of a court's jurisdiction over the accused, and is an important stage in the criminal proceedings. It is that part of the judicial process in which charges are read to the accused followed by his plea of guilty or not guilty. The arraignment of the accused would finally, after nearly four years, begin the equally tedious and lengthy process of presenting evidence to establish guilt.
The deferment—for the third time—of the arraignment of Sajid Islam and Akmad “Tato” will continue to delay the trial, despite the urgency of concluding it not only for the sake of justice for the families of the 58 murdered victims, but also for the People of the Philippines, for the press, and for the democracy that supposedly reigns in this land.
It is part of a pattern that since 2010 has delayed the trial and is threatening to prolong it beyond the bounds of human endurance.
Zaldy Ampatuan, for example, was arraigned only in December 2012, three years after his arrest. As in the case of his other accused kin, the delay was due to the argument that he had pending petitions before the CA and the SC.
Of the eight members of the Ampatuan clan among the principal accused, only four have been arraigned. No date has been set for the arraignment of Anwar Jr. and Anwar Sajid, the grandsons of Andal Ampatuan Sr.
Members of the Freedom Fund for Filipino Journalists, a network of press freedom advocates, have long argued that the credible conclusion of the Ampatuan Massacre trial is crucial to the dismantling of the culture of impunity, and the pattern of violence in that culture that makes victims not only of journalists, but of other citizens.
For that to happen, everyone involved, most particularly the presiding judge, the prosecution, and the rest of the judicial system, must be focused on concluding the trial before long, as justice demands.
We are disturbed by the trial court’s decision, as we have been distressed by its and other courts’ past rulings that have delayed the trial. They are indications that the judicial system has not fully appreciated the significance of the massacre trial to the press, to democracy, and to the rest of the Filipino people.
SIGNATORIES:
Freedom Fund for Filipino Journalists:
Center for Community Journalism and Development
Center for Media Freedom & Responsibility
Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas
Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism
Philippine Press Institute