2 CA justices face probe on Zaldy

MANILA, Philippines - The Supreme Court (SC) has ordered an investigation into the alleged bribery of some justices of the Court of Appeals division handling the petition seeking to clear suspended Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao Gov. Zaldy Ampatuan from the Maguindanao massacre case in 2009.

In a notice of resolution obtained by The STAR, the Court directed CA presiding Justice Andres Reyes Jr. to conduct an internal ethics investigation on two former members of the appellate court’s Special 11th Division as sought in the petition filed by widows Ramonita Salaysay and Editha Tiamzon last April.

Presiding Justice Reyes was given 30 days to complete the probe and submit a report and recommendation to the SC. The CA was specifically instructed by the high tribunal to “investigate the allegation about a forthcoming resolution to be issued by the appellate court in exchange for P200 million to free Zaldy Ampatuan from detention in connection with the Maguindanao massacre case now being heard before the Quezon City Regional Trial Court.”

The SC also wants the CA chief to look into the news leak on the alleged voting in the Special 11th Division of the CA on the petition of Ampatuan and the reported statement of his lawyer Howard Calleja that the accused is “bound to be granted bail soon enough.”

The SC acted on the case and ordered a probe into the bribery charges even after the widows have withdrawn their petition and opted to file the complaint with the office of the court administrator instead.

The widows have asked the SC to order an ethics investigation that would determine the veracity of a report, which alleged that “P200 million changed hands at the Court of Appeals to exclude Governor Zaldy Ampatuan of the ARMM in the Maguindanao massacre case.”

Salaysay, widow of Napoleon Salaysay of Clearview Gazette (Cotabato City), and Tiamzon, widow of Daniel Tiamzon of UNTV-Gensan, also cited another report where Ampatuan’s lawyer Calleja purportedly bragged about imminent release of his client. They have questioned why CA Associate Justices Danton Bueser and Marlyn Gonzales-Sison, regular members of the 11th Division, have chosen to remain in the panel hearing the case of Zaldy Ampatuan even after inhibiting themselves from the case of his father, Andal Sr., considering the separate petitions have the same arguments and grounds.

“Thus it was disturbing and unnerving for herein petitioners that the honorable justices Bueser and Sison would opt out of the clan Andal Sr.’s petition but still take part in the proceeding on Zaldy’s petition,” the petition read.

The widows also cited another newspaper report on the supposed possibility of Ampatuan being granted bail.

They wondered where the media got the information that Bueser and Sison would vote in favor of granting Zaldy Ampatuan’s bail petition.

It can be recalled that both justices Bueser and Sison have already inhibited from the case even pending the probe.

Zaldy Ampatuan along with his father former Maguindanao governor Andal Ampatuan Sr., and his brother former mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr. of Datu Unsay, Maguindanao; and 194 others were charged for the killing of 57 people in Maguindanao on Nov. 23, 2009.

Among the dead were the wife of now incumbent Maguindanao Gov. Esmael Mangudadatu who was then the vice mayor 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 would run for governor of Maguindanao and challenge a scion of the Ampatuan clan. Mangudadatu has since won the election. The Mangudadatus have accused the Ampatuans of masterminding the incident, specifically pointing to Andal Ampatuan Jr. as the leader of 100 armed men who abducted Mangudadatu’s supporters. The Ampatuans denied the allegations against them. Meanwhile, at least 36 militiamen accused in the Maguindanao massacre were fetched from the house of Kanor Ampatuan and shuttled to a checkpoint site in Sitio Malating where a convoy of journalists and Mangudadatu clan members were flagged down before they were killed on Nov. 23, 2009.

Four of them were identified in court yesterday by their former colleague Esmael Amil as Tato Tampogao, Mohades Ampatuan, Nicomedes Amad Tolentino, and Misuari Ampatuan.

The four allegedly worked for the local civilian volunteer organization (CVO) leader identified only as “Alijo,” who in turn was working for Kanor - the nephew of Andal Sr. and is one of the 196 accused in the massacre case.

Amil said he fetched the men in two batches - 20 and 16 - from Kanor’s house in Shariff Aguak.

They were all in uniform and armed with high-powered guns when picked up by a 6X6 military vehicle locally called a weapon carrier and driven by Amil.

Amil said he doesn’t have any personal knowledge on what happened at the checkpoint after the militiamen alighted from his vehicle because he went home to Labo-labo.

From his house, however, he allegedly heard shots that lasted for about an hour.

A prosecutor who declined to be identified said Amil’s testimony aims to establish “conspiracy.”

The state lawyer explained that their case does not merely pertain to the killing itself but to the conspiracy that led to the massacre. Edu Punay, Aie Balagtas See