CA affirms indictment of Zaldy Ampatuan

MANILA, Philippines - The Court of Appeals (CA) has affirmed the indictment of detained and suspended Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) Gov. Zaldy Ampatuan for the massacre of 57 people in Maguindanao on Nov. 23, 2009.

In a decision promulgated yesterday, the 11th division of the appellate court junked the petition filed by Ampatuan in June last year assailing an earlier ruling of the Department of Justice (DOJ) to include him in the charge sheet for multiple murder.

With this ruling, Ampatuan may now be arraigned before the Quezon City regional trial court hearing the case.

Nena Santos, lawyer of Maguindanao Gov. Toto Mangudadatu, lauded the indictment of the former ARMM governor, saying justice had been served.

Voting 4-1, magistrates of the special division upheld the May 5, 2010 resolution of DOJ that approved the indictment of Ampatuan based on affidavit by witness Abdul Talusan that was submitted by complainants after the preliminary investigation.

The CA ruling penned by Associate Justice Noel Tijam dismissed the allegation of petitioner that his constitutional right to due process was violated when the former justice secretary Alberto Agra gave weight to Talusan’s testimony without giving him an opportunity to present counter-evidence.

Talusan corroborated the testimony of key prosecution witness Kenny Dalagdag. He claimed that the former ARMM governor participated in the meeting held at the house of his father, former Maguindanao governor Datu Andal Ampatuan Sr. where the massacre was planned.

Petitioner alleged that the DOJ abused its discretion when it did not give Zaldy Ampatuan the opportunity to refute Talusan’s testimony.

He also stressed that the May 5, 2010 resolution was hastily issued by Agra considering that Talusan’s testimony was submitted on April 30, 2010, a Friday; May 1, 2010 was a holiday; May 2, 2010 was a Sunday; and May 3, 2010 was declared a special holiday in lieu of May 1, 2010, Labor Day.

A copy of Talusan’s affidavit was received by lawyers of Ampatuan only on May 17, 2010 or long after the issuance of the resolution.

But the CA junked his allegations and held that the move of the DOJ was proper. The decision, however, was not released yesterday since it has yet to be signed by all justices. – With Aie Balagtas See