Maguindanao massacre victims to file charges vs prison authorities

MANILA, Philippines - Victims of the Maguindanao massacre of November 2009 vowed yesterday to file administrative and criminal cases against officials of the detention facility in Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig who allegedly allowed the detained suspects to hold a party for their visitors last Saturday.

The victims’ counsels from the Center for International Law (Centerlaw) led by Harry Roque said the jail warden and all those responsible for the special treatment being given to the members of the Ampatuan clan should be held liable.

“We will not only file the appropriate motion to cite the warden and all those responsible for the ‘party’ for contempt of court, we will also file administrative and criminal charges against them for dereliction of duty,” they said in a statement.

“It is not true, as jail officials claimed, that all inmates are entitled to hold lavish parties in jail. This privilege is accorded only to the rich and powerful. The decision to allow them to hold a party is not only a gross insult to the victims of the country’s worse massacre, it also sends the message that those who massacre, when they are rich and with political connections, can have lavish party even as they are already under detention for the possible commission of a heinous crimes. This is a tried and tested formula for impunity of the kind that we precisely have in this country,” said the Centerlaw lawyers that represent 14 massacre victims.

The massacre resulted in the killing of 57 people, including the wife of then Vice Mayor Esmael Mangudadatu of Buluan, Maguindanao and two of his sisters, two female lawyers and 30 media men who covered the supposed filing of certificate of candidacy of the vice mayor, who ran for governor of Maguindanao to challenge a scion of the Ampatuan clan.

Mangudadatu was elected governor of maguindanao in the last May 10 elections.

The Mangudadatus have blamed the Ampatuans for the massacre, specifically pointing to former Mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr. of Datu Unsay, Ma-guindanao, as the leader of more than 100 armed men who abducted Ma-ngudadatu’s supporters.

The Ampatuans denied any involvement in the massacre.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) yesterday recommended the filing of 57 counts of murder against 197 more suspects, led by Andal Jr., his father and patriarch of the Ampatuan clan former Maguindanao Gov. Andal Sr., and his brother Gov. Zaldy of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) for the gruesome massacre.

The suspects are now detained at Camp Bagong Diwa in Bicutan.

The Bureau of Jail and Penology (BJMP) denied that the Ampatuans held a party inside the Metro Manila District Jail in Camp Bagong Diwa.

BJMP chief Director Rosendo Dial said inmates, who are still undergoing trial, still have human rights and the bureau is balancing the rights with jail regulations.

“Our inmates are allowed to celebrate their birthdays but in a solemn, quiet way with their immediate family members, friends or lawyers,” Dial said. “But it is our strict policy not to allow blaring sounds or raucous behavior to avoid disturbing other inmates.”

There were news reports that the massacre suspects allegedly held a party over the weekend.

The news report quoted witnesses who were inside the jail to visit relatives in the institution who claimed to have heard loud music.

“About 95 percent of our inmates are still undergoing trial, therefore they are considered innocent until the Court decides otherwise,” said Dial.

“Although the public, not much less the supposed victims, see it differently, it is this delicate balance between preserving their rights as accused as well as protecting the interest of public safety that the bureau implements.”

Dial said the loud sounds came from the headquarters of the Special Action Force (SAF), which is located beside the Metro Manila District Jail.

“The party was probably mistaken to be that of the jail. I was told by the warden of the facility that an officer of the SAF had a birthday party at the SAF camp of the Philippine National Police (PNP) which is adjacent to the jail,” said Dial.

Meanwhile, Centerlaw said the families of the victims of the massacre condemn the special treatment accorded to the suspects that allowed them to have a lavish party in their detention facility.