Supreme Court orders transfer of Ampatuan Jr. to Bicutan jail

BAGUIO CITY , Philippines  – Andal Ampatuan Jr., the principal suspect in the killing of 57 people in Maguindanao last year, will be moved from detention at the National Bureau of Investigation in Manila to a five-story jail facility in Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig on orders of the Supreme Court (SC).

Midas Marquez, court administrator and SC spokesman, said the murder trial will also be transferred from Camp Crame in Quezon City to the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology building, where a courtroom has been constructed below the detention cell of Ampatuan Jr.

“We have inspected the facility and it is ready for the detention of accused and the trial of the Maguindanao massacre case,” he said.

The SC also ordered that the other accused in the murder case be moved to the detention facility in Camp Bagong Diwa, where the Metro Manila District Jail and the headquarters of the National Capital Region Police Office are also located.

Seven other accused are detained in various jail facilities in Metro Manila and Mindanao.

They are former Maguindanao governor Andal Ampatuan Sr., former Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao governor Zaldy Ampatuan, Maguindanao Vice Gov. Akmad Tato Sr., Sajid Ampatuan, Anwar Ampatuan, Takpan Dilon and Esmael Canapia.

59th suspect arrested

Police have arrested the 59th suspect in last year’s Maguindanao massacre, and a manhunt has been launched for 137 other suspects who have remained at large.

Militiaman Naot Duma, 26, was arrested in his house in Barangay Meta in Ampatuan, Maguindanao at 1:45 a.m. on yesterday.

Senior Superintendent Benito Estipona, CIDG deputy director for operations, said Duma was arrested on the strength of a warrant of arrest issued by Judge Jocelyn Solis-Reyes of Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 221.

“We look forward to more arrests in the coming days,” he said.

Duma is detained in Cotabato, but police will return the warrant to the court, which will determine the place of his detention, Estipona said.

Director Leon Nilo de la Cruz, Criminal Investigation and Detection Group chief, said they will exert all efforts to account for all the accused in the Maguindanao massacre.

Estipona said police are still looking for 137 suspects, including 23 allies of the Ampatuan clan, 97 civilian volunteers, 13 policemen and four soldiers.

Of the 59 accused in police custody, Estipona said six belong to the Ampatuan clan.

They are Andal Sr., Andal Jr., Zaldy, Akmad Sr., Sajid and Anwar.

More than 100 policemen charged

More than 100 Maguindanao policemen implicated in last year’s Maguindanao massacre have been charged administratively before police authorities in General Santos City.

Maura Montano, mother of Saksi newspaper publisher Neneng Montano, told The STAR she and the families of other victims had filed administrative complaints at Camp Fermin Lira Police Headquarters in General Santos City against the Maguindanao policemen involved in the massacre.

Meantime, families of the massacre victims have asked lawyer Harry Roque and his associates to lay off their case.

Police Officer 1 Eliver Cablitas, vice-chairman of The Heirs of the 11/23 Heroes, said they have hired their own lawyer to represent them.

“Certainly, not Roque or any of his associates, including this attorney (Rommel) Bagares,” he said. – With Cecille Suerte Felipe, Rose Tamayo-Tesoro, Nonong Baliao