To no one’s surprise, the Quezon City Regional Trial Court has dismissed the rebellion case filed by the government against members and supporters of the Ampatuan clan. A “brewing rebellion” was used by Malacañang to justify President Arroyo’s declaration of martial law in Maguindanao last year following the Nov. 23 massacre of 57 people, most of them journalists. Quezon City RTC Judge Vivencio Baclig said there was insufficient evidence to bolster the prosecution’s claim of an armed uprising as government forces hunted down the perpetrators of the massacre.
Clan patriarch Andal Ampatuan Sr. still faces multiple murder cases together with his sons Andal Jr. and Zaldy as well as other relatives and supporters, so they will remain in detention. But the dismissal of the rebellion complaint could affect the other cases filed in connection with the massacre. The nation is still waiting for the Supreme Court to rule on petitions challenging the validity of the President’s proclamation of martial law based on a brewing or looming rebellion. If the question is left unanswered, nothing will stop the President from seeing a “brewing rebellion” anywhere in the country and declaring martial law during the elections and until the end of the counting of votes.
If the martial law proclamation had no legal basis, what will this make of the raids on the homes of the Ampatuans and the confiscation of huge piles of weapons, ammunition and armored vehicles during the martial law period, when no official inventory of the items seized was made? Cases of illegal possession of firearms and ammunition were also filed against the Ampatuans and their supporters. Will these cases be dismissed?
Andal Ampatuan Sr., a staunch ally of the President, was also indicted in connection with the massacre, but only after he was charged with rebellion. If his lawyers succeed in arguing that the indictments for murder were part of the rebellion case, will Ampatuan be cleared of all charges? Judge Baclig’s ruling reflected the sentiments of those who opposed the martial law proclamation. Critics wondered why the government insisted on imposing martial law and filing cases for rebellion. The suspicion from the start was that the rebellion case was designed to let a presidential ally, suspected of involvement in vote-rigging in the past two elections, off the hook in a heinous crime.