Zaldy A. to present defense

MANILA, Philippines - The Quezon City court handling the Maguindanao massacre trial has set Sept. 3 as the first hearing in which the defense, particularly lawyers of former Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) governor Zaldy Ampatuan, will present its evidence in support of his bail petition.

During the hearing on Thursday at the Quezon City Jail-Annex in Camp Bagong Diwa, Regional Trial Court Branch 221 Judge Jocelyn Solis-Reyes ordered the Heffron Esguerra Dy & De Jesus (HEDJ) law office to prepare for its turn in presenting evidence.

Lawyer Andre de Jesus, who attended the hearing, initially asked the court to give them 30 days to prepare for their turn in the hearings. The judge, however, declined the 30-day request and set the next hearing on Sept. 3, or 20 days after Thursday’s hearing.

De Jesus, following the hearing, told The STAR that they will abide with the order of the court and would not want to make the impression that they are delaying the case.

The HEDJ entered its appearance for the former ARMM governor on June 3, days after the Fortun Narvasa & Salazar (FNS) law office withdrew its appearance for Zaldy.

The FNS last week also withdrew its appearance for Zaldy’s brother, Andal Jr., and their father Andal Sr. The FNS did not say why it withdrew from the cases.

Asked if they will take over the case for Andal Sr. and Andal Jr., De Jesus said he is not aware of any discussion to that effect.

During the trial, Judge Solis-Reyes asked Andal Jr. if he would allow De Jesus to represent him and some of the other suspects at least for that day. The suspect, however, declined and said they will just find new lawyers.

Fifty-eight people, including at least 32 media practitioners, died in the massacre. A total of 197 suspects were initially charged with multiple murder in connection with the incident. A total of 110 of the initial 197 suspects have been arrested for the massacre.