Lawyer: Find connection between Ampatuans and ‘emissary’

MANILA, Philippines - A private prosecutor in the Maguindanao massacre trial has urged members of media to find the connection between the Ampatuan clan and the supposed emissary who talked with some of the victims’ relatives about an out-of-court settlement.

“Dear media practitioners: please dig up the relationship, if any, between Jun Chan and the Ampatuans,” lawyer Harry Roque said in a Twitter post yesterday.

Chan was the alleged person who talked with family members of some massacre victims about a possible settlement with the suspects.

Roque earlier claimed that Chan died in an ambush weeks after he secured a written authority allowing him to negotiate with the suspects.

In a blog post last week, Roque said the need of the victims for compensation has been “highlighted by the fact that 14 media victims” signed a written authority in February that authorized a negotiation with the suspects.

“Under this scheme, the victims were to sign not just a waiver and quitclaim, but also an affidavit pinning the blame for the massacre” on Maguindanao Gov. Esmael Mangudadatu, he said in his blog.

Aside from the tweet urging members of the media to find a possible connection between Chan and the Ampatuans, Roque also posted on his blog a news article about the ambush on Chan.

The article, published on the website of ZamboTimes on March 26, talked about the manhunt for the suspects who perpetrated the ambush that killed Chan and wounded his wife, who were on their way to their farm in General Santos City when they were attacked.

“Police remained clueless on the motive since none from the couples’ valuables were taken by the gunmen,” read the article, which identified Chan as a dentist and trader.

“The existence of this story proves that Jun Chan was for real. Who was he negotiating for? Why was he killed?” Roque said.

Roque is the chairman of the Center for International Law, which represents the families of four of the 14 victims who allegedly signed the authority for negotiation. He said the settlement price was pegged at P50 million per family.

The lawyer earlier said the families do not have copies of the documents they signed.

In an earlier statement, defense lawyer Sigfrid Fortun said he “has not been consulted on any settlement.”

Some relatives of the victims, including Mangudadatu, have granted interviews saying that they are not surprised about settlement talks. They insisted, however, that they will not agree to a settlement.

Among the 197 suspects tagged in the massacre were Ampatuan clan patriarch former Maguindanao governor Andal Sr. and his sons Zaldy, Andal Jr., Anwar Sr. and Sajid Islam.