2 cops tagged in Maguindanao massacre want charges dropped

MANILA, Philippines - Two police officers who were charged with murder case in connection with the Maguindanao massacre have asked a Quezon City court to set aside an order including them in the charges and recalling the warrant of arrest issued against them.

Superintendent Bahnarin Kamaong and Police Officer 1 Sandy Sabang filed the motion for reconsideration through their lawyer, Jose Emilio Valentin, before the Quezon City Regional Trial Court (QCRTC) Branch 221 on April 7.

“With all due respect to this Honorable Court, there seems to have been undue haste that accompanied the issuance of the order dated March 24, 2010,” they said in the motion.

They asked the court to shield them “from undue harassment brought about by the unnecessary arrest and detention.”

Kamaong is with the 15th Regional Mobile Group in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao while Sabang is assigned with the 150th Maguindanao Provincial Mobile Group.

Kamaong and Sabang are among the 196 suspects included in the amended information to the murder charges earlier filed against Andal Ampatuan Jr. of the 196, seven - including Andal Ampatuan Sr. - were already detained when the order was issued by the QCRTC Branch 221 on March 24.

A court staff said that of the 189 who were issued warrants for their arrest, 49 have been accounted for as of Thursday. These did not include Kamaong and Sabang, meaning they remain at large.

In filing the motion for reconsideration, Kamaong and Sabang said they filed a petition for review before the Department of Justice on March 16.

The two policemen also said they were not positively identified by the complainants and witnesses in the cases and their arrest would be a violation of their right to due process.

They also said there was no prima facie evidence to prove they conspired with the other accused in the case or they were direct principals or accomplices or accessories in the crime.