MANILA, Philippines - All the witnesses in the Maguindanao massacre that are in government custody are safe and secure.
Justice Secretary Alberto Agra gave the assurance and added that the government has a strong case against the accused in the massacre amid reports that a key witness had been murdered.
He said stronger security measures have been implemented to secure all the witnesses in the case.
“We checked the other witnesses and they are still intact, and we are continuing our coordination with private prosecutors,” Agra said on GMA-7 television.
Agra though refused to elaborate on the measures taken to protect the witnesses, saying that it would compromise their safety.
The Philippine National Police (PNP) yesterday confirmed that Suwaib Upham, a self-confessed gunman in the massacre, was indeed killed on June 14.
Upham introduced himself as “Jessie” last March and admitted to having directly participated in the massacre of 57 people in Maguindanao on Nov. 23 last year.
PNP-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) operations chief Senior Superintendent Benito Estipona said the team of police investigators sent to Maguindanao to investigate the murder had determined the real identity of the slain witness.
Estipona identified the victim as Sweb Dalanda Bedo.
He said police investigators also gathered several documents that showed Bedo carried identification cards with a different name, Swed Dalanda Tacil.
But photographs gathered by the investigators from the victim’s relatives in Mamapasano town revealed Bedo and Tacil are one and the same person, he said.
According to Estipona, Bedo is the same person who introduced himself as Jessie when he was interviewed by a select group of journalists in Manila last March.
Bedo earlier surfaced as Suwaib Upham and told reporters that he was a member of the armed militia that served the Ampatuan family in Maguindanao.
Bedo had admitted being one of the gunmen who took part in the carnage and identified the other gunmen as former Datu Unsay mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr., his cousins Kanor Ampatuan, Ban Ampatuan, and Mama Ampatuan, Police Officer 1 Ando Masukat, and a certain Kudja.
“His name (Tacil) in the postal ID is fictitious. But he (Bedo) is the same guy interviewed by reporters last March,” Estipona said.
He said another team of police investigators is in Parang to investigate Bedo’s murder, while another team of CIDG investigators is tracking down a potential witness to the killing.
He said the potential witness is still missing and was last seen Tuesday in Parang.
Estipona said the CIDG would summon lawyer Harry Roque to shed light on the circumstances surrounding the killing of Bedo.
Roque, as legal counsel of the families of the massacre victims, claimed Bedo had stayed in Manila for two months since March to apply for inclusion in the witness protection program.
Roque said the witness decided to return to Mindanao after realizing the Department of Justice (DOJ) had turned him down.
Roque also claimed the witness carried different names to hide his true identity for security reasons.
Roque confirmed the witness was carrying several identification cards, including the postal ID that bore a different name, all meant to hide his true identity.
Roque claimed he only met the witness once and had bought plane tickets for his trip to Manila under the name of Swed Dalanda Tacil.
According to Roque, Bedo was illiterate and was only taught to write the name of Suwaib Upham.
Roque promised to present the plane tickets that bore the name “Swed Dalanda Tacil” before the CIDG.
Agra earlier expressed doubts over the credibility of the witness since he never talked to any of the prosecutors handling the case.
He also blamed Roque for failing to present the witness to the government.
Agra accused Roque of being negligent and jeopardizing the security of the witness that eventually led to his murder.