Ampatuan lawyer wants to defer presentation of 2 witnesses

MANILA, Philippines - Defense lawyer Philip Sigfrid Fortun wants to defer the presentation of two prosecution witnesses he said are not on the list approved during the pre-trial phase of the Maguindanao massacre case.

In a hearing on Jan. 5, Prosecutor Peter Medalle, who heads the prosecution panel, announced in open court that Gemma Oquendo, a sister of victim Cynthia Oquendo, and a forensic expert from the National Bureau of Investigation will be presented during a hearing tomorrow.

Fortun questioned the move, saying the presentation of new unlisted witnesses violates a Supreme Court memorandum on the matter and “provides an unfair maneuver to keep adding new witnesses after pre-trial despite the prosecutors’ duty to build their case and evidence at the inception of trial.”

Fortun represents Andal Ampatuan Jr. and his father, Andal Sr., who are among the 196 accused in the case. He asked for an official stand from Judge Jocelyn Solis-Reyes of the Regional Trial Court Branch 221 regarding what he said were “additional witnesses.”