EDITORIAL - No deal

Election fraud and conspiracy to commit murder are two different creatures. If Zaldy Ampatuan wants to spill the beans on cheating in the 2007 elections in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, it’s most welcome, especially if what he intends to reveal is the truth and nothing but. The ARMM, where he served as governor, figured prominently in poll-rigging scandals in the previous administration.

This belated revelation, however, cannot serve as an excuse for allowing him to turn state witness or cut a deal in the Maguindanao massacre, where he is among the principal accused and where his testimony is not necessary to secure a conviction.

From the start Ampatuan had maintained his innocence, saying he was not in the ARMM when the massacre was planned and perpetrated. He presented plane tickets and a mobile phone service provider’s statement of account to prove that from Nov. 20 to 24, 2009, he was in Manila, Davao City and Cotabato.

A witness, however, said Ampatuan was present at the family gathering on the eve of the Nov. 23 massacre when the deadly plan was hatched, with clan patriarch Andal Ampatuan Sr. allegedly presiding at the meeting. Andal’s son, Zaldy’s brother Andal Jr., has been tagged by numerous witnesses as the one who led the attack on the convoy of relatives and supporters of Esmael Mangudadatu, now governor of Maguindanao. More than half of the 57 victims were journalists.

After nearly two years, Zaldy Ampatuan claims to have had an epiphany. He is seeking a legal change in the surname of his children to shield them from the Ampatuan stigma. And he now wants to talk not only about his relatives’ role in the massacre but also about poll fraud in the ARMM.

He isn’t the least guilty, according to the charge sheet, and his proffered story is not indispensable in securing a conviction against his relatives, so he can’t qualify as a state witness. Even Zaldy Ampatuan’s lawyer has said his client isn’t asking to turn state witness but merely wants protection in detention after his statements against his relatives.

If Zaldy Ampatuan wants to clear his name, the better way is by subjecting himself to a court trial. If he has all the evidence to prove his innocence, as he claims, he has nothing to fear. And if he has anything to reveal about poll fraud in the ARMM, with no motive except to clear his conscience and prove that not all Ampatuans are evil, the best time to tell the truth is now.