Ampatuan lawyer grills new state witness

MANILA, Philippines - A defense lawyer yesterday tried to demolish the credibility of former Sultan Sabarongis vice mayor Sukarno Badal, who has turned state witness against the members of the Ampatuan clan accused of masterminding the Nov. 23, 2009 massacre.

Lawyer Sigfrid Fortun grilled Badal on the alleged inconsistencies between what he had stated in a sworn affidavit dated Oct. 28, 2010 and what he had told the court during his presentation last Wednesday. Fortun represents former Maguindano governor Andal Ampatuan Sr., Andal “Datu Unsay” Ampatuan Jr. and former Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao governor Zaldy Ampatuan.

In his testimony Wednesday before Quezon City Regional Trial Court Judge Jocelyn Solis-Reyes, Badal identified several suspects as among those present in three meetings held by the Ampatuan clan prior to the massacre.

He also said he saw Ampatuan Jr. shoot the victims, including now Maguindanao Gov. Esmael Mangudadatu’s wife, Bai Genalyn. He also identified several Ampatuan clan members and other suspects among those who took part in the massacre.

Badal’s affidavit, which was sworn before Prosecutor Rodolfo Yanzon of Cotabato City, served as the basis for his inclusion in the government’s witness protection program.

Inconsistencies

Fortun questioned Badal as to why his statement, made in court last Wednesday, on the alleged order by the Ampatuan patriarch to have Mangudadatu killed could not be found in his sworn affidavit. Badal said this was true.

In the cross-examination, Fortun also asked why Badal did not personally subscribe his affidavit before Yanzon. Badal admitted having sent his wife Rose Beth to deliver his affidavit to Yanzon the following day.

State Prosecutor Aristotle Reyes later told reporters that Badal did not appear before Yanzon as he was in hiding and was worried about his safety.

During the cross-examination, Fortun also asked Badal as to the whereabouts of his .45 caliber pistol.

Badal said his gun was taken by the Ampatuan patriarch’s men during an encounter after the massacre. Fortun said while Badal claimed he was armed only with a pistol during the massacre, when soldiers came to fetch him in the remote Barangay Limpongo, in Datu Hoffer Ampatuan town, Maguindanao, he surrendered high-powered guns, including a machine gun and a sniper rifle.

Meanwhile, Solis-Reyes set the arraignment of suspects Superintendent Bahnarin Kamaong and Police Officer 1 Sandy Sabang on Feb. 27 after the Department of Justice dismissed the suspects’ petition for review filed on Oct. 8, 2012.

The judge said it is imperative for the two to be arraigned “as there is no longer any legal ground to further hold in abeyance their arraignment.”

Sabang and Kamaong will be the 83rd and 84th suspects who will be arraigned for the 57 counts of murder filed against the initial 197 suspects tagged in the massacre. – With Janvic Mateo