CA allows 4 massacre witnesses to testify

MANILA, Philippines - The Court of Appeals (CA) has junked a bid of Andal Ampatuan Jr., the primary suspect in the Maguindanao massacre case, to block the testimonies of four prosecution witnesses in the trial.

In a nine-page decision released yesterday, the CA’s Fifth Division dismissed Ampatuan’s petition questioning the decision of Quezon City Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 221 Judge Jocelyn Solis-Reyes allowing the prosecution panel to present Army Capt. Julius Gundayao, lawyer Gemma Oquendo and National Bureau of Investigation forensic experts “R. Paruli” and Sherwin Uy on the witness stand.

Ampatuan’s lawyers objected to the presentation of the four witnesses, arguing that the prosecution did not include their names in the pre-trial conference of the case.

They cited an administrative order by the Supreme Court (SC) barring the presentation or naming witnesses in the pre-trial conferences if they were not listed in the pre-trial orders.

The CA, in the ruling penned by Associate Justice Ricardo Rosario, cited a doctrine established in SC rulings “that the rules of procedure are mere tools intended to facilitate rather than to frustrate the attainment of justice.”

“A strict and rigid application of the rules must always be eschewed if it would subvert their primary objective of enhancing fair trials and expediting justice,” added the CA decision.

Associate Justices Rosmari Carandang and Leoncia Real-Dimagiba concurred in this ruling.

The Department of Justice had earlier blamed the legal maneuvers of the defense lawyers for delaying the trial.