Zaldy, Andal hit back at 2 witnesses

MANILA, Philippines - Lawyers representing brothers Zaldy Ampatuan and Andal Ampatuan Jr. accused yesterday two witnesses of perjuring themselves by implicating their clients in the Nov. 23, 2009 Maguindanao massacre.

Redemberto Villanueva said new witness Abdul Talusan lied under oath when he testified in court that Zaldy – a former governor of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao – was part of the planning of the carnage.

“We are going to file a case against him for telling perjured statements in court. It will be within the week,” he told reporters.

Villanueva also filed before the Court of Appeals an appeal for the immediate resolution of their petition for Zaldy to be cleared of the charges. He questioned a ruling of the Department of Justice (DOJ) that approved his indictment in the case.

In a 43-page memorandum, Zaldy specifically sought the nullification of the DOJ resolution issued last May 5 by then secretary Alberto Agra, who reversed his own April 16 ruling that excluded Zaldy from the multiple murder cases.

Zaldy said the DOJ ruling should be nullified because it supposedly violated due process in giving credence to the affidavit of Talusan, whose testimony was submitted by private prosecution lawyer Nena Santos in her supplemental motion for reconsideration.

Zaldy alleged that Agra acted with grave abuse of discretion when he did not give him the opportunity to refute Talusan’s testimony. He said Talusan’s testimony was submitted on April 30, a Friday, and Agra issued the indictment on May 5. He said his lawyers only received Talusan’s affidavit on May 17.

“It is important to note that Secretary Agra’s opinion as to insufficiency and weakness of Kenny Dalandag’s testimony remained undisturbed. In fact, such opinion was further strengthened when Secretary Agra maintained that it was only on the basis of the new affidavit of Talusan that he even reconsidered his earlier resolution as to the alleged involvement of Zaldy Ampatuan,” Villanueva said.

Villanueva also said there are contradictions in the testimonies of Dalandag and Talusan. He said while Dalandag claimed he saw Zaldy at the house of his father, Datu Andal Ampatuan Sr., at Shariff Aguak, Maguindanao at around 7 p.m. on Nov. 22, 2009, Talusan claimed he saw Zaldy Ampatuan arrive at the house only around 11 p.m. on the same date.

Andal wants witness off protection program

Meanwhile, former Datu Unsay mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr., the main suspect in the Maguindanao massacre case, recently filed a petition asking a Manila court to stop the inclusion of Mohamad Sangki in the Department of Justice-Witness Protection Security and Benefit Program (DOJ-WPSBP).

Ampatuan, through his legal counsel Philip Sigfrid Fortun, filed a 19-page petition before the Manila City Office of the Clerk of Court (MCOCC).

Identified as respondents in the case were Senior State Prosecutor Leo Dacera III, program director of the WPSBP (more commonly known as the witness protection program); and Mohamad Sangki, one of those who testified in the criminal case pending before the Quezon City court against Andal. 

Sangki is a Sangguniang Bayan member of the Datu Abdullah Sangki town in Maguindanao.

Andal is asking for a temporary restraining order (TRO) or a writ of preliminary injunction to restrain Dacera from admitting Sangki into the program; granting Sangki immunity from prosecution; using Sangki as a prosecution witness.

Andal said Sangki’s admission into the witness protection program is anomalous and illegal since he does not meet all the requirements stated under Republic Act 6981.

According to Andal, the prosecution has 227 witnesses, “more than enough to prove their theory and thus have absolutely no need for Sangki.”

Andal said his lawyers have repeatedly asked Dacera the date and the circumstances surrounding Sangki’s admission into the program, but their requests have been ignored.

He also said Sangki also appeared to be among those most guilty, since he admitted complicity in the massacre.

“In his Jan. 27, 2010 testimony he allegedly confirmed having authorized the deployment of armed auxiliaries from Datu Abdullah Sangki municipality to participate in what he claimed was a planned abduction of Mangudadatu adherents,” Andal’s petition said.

He also does not believe that Sangki fears for his safety nor is he innocent – Sangki, Andal said, is a government official who has a company of civilian volunteers and armed militia at his disposal that he reportedly organized in just 24 hours to help stop the Mangundadatu convoy.

Andal also expressed concern that if Sangki is admitted into the WPP, it would not only cause undue prejudice to his right to a fair trial but it would also set a dangerous precedent because offenses that are prosecuted in the future with manufactured witnesses would be the norm and perjured testimonies the standard for admission into the program.