EDITORIAL - Settlement

It’s hardly surprising that relatives of 14 victims of the Maguindanao massacre are reportedly willing to settle with the Ampatuans, the principal defendants in the case. At the rate the case is moving through the justice system, and with key witnesses continuing to be murdered, an attractive settlement package may persuade some of the relatives to lose interest in prosecuting the accused.

One senator estimated that with 58 victims and hundreds of perpetrators, with only about half of the suspects accounted for, it could take up to 200 years to finish litigation. Considering the track record of the Philippine judiciary, the estimate may not be an exaggeration. Over three years after the November 2009 mass murder, the principal defendants are still being arraigned.

The reported settlement negotiations indicate that the Ampatuans have retained their considerable wealth, believed accumulated in the decade when the clan ruled the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao like their own fiefdom. Authorities are supposed to have frozen the clan’s questionable assets and undertaken efforts to account for all the wealth. Even in this area, however, the efforts have been wanting.

Malacañang emphasized yesterday that any out-of-court financial settlement between the Ampatuans and the victims’ relatives would not erase the criminal liability of the defendants, which the state will pursue. Disinterested plaintiffs, however, can lead to the dismissal of a criminal case.

There are 44 other massacre victims whose relatives are not in negotiations for an out-of-court settlement. The openness of the 14 to a deal, however, should prod those concerned to speed up the administration of justice in this case. When justice is delayed and denied, it becomes tempting for the aggrieved to accept a proffered alternative.