EDITORIAL - Permanently silenced

Just days before the fifth anniversary of the Maguindanao massacre, another witness against the principal defendants was murdered and his companion seriously wounded.

Dennis Sakal Jr. would have had a compelling story to tell. He was the driver of Andal Ampatuan Jr., who as mayor of Ampatuan town allegedly led about 300 members of his clan’s private army – including police, soldiers and militiamen – in executing 58 people, 32 of them media workers, on Nov. 23, 2009.

The 58 were then hurriedly buried in a shallow grave on an isolated hilltop, with a backhoe bearing the clan’s name crushing many of the victims right inside their vehicles. There was initial public disbelief as grisly details of what happened trickled out of the massacre site.

Last Tuesday morning, Sakal and his companion Butch Saudagal, said to be a former bagman of the Ampatuans, were in a tricycle on their way to tell their story to prosecutors in Shariff Aguak, capital of Maguindanao, when they were waylaid by unidentified gunmen.

Sakal is the fourth witness to be assassinated, and unless suspects are arrested, there could be more killings. The attacks not only eliminate witnesses but also scare potential witnesses into silence.

While prosecutors have said they have a strong case against Ampatuan and his relatives who stand accused of the massacre, witnesses can strengthen the cases against other defendants. Witnesses can also assist in the search for about a hundred other participants in the mass murder. As long as those other suspects roam free, they can continue silencing more witnesses.

The attacks on witnesses can further derail the search for justice, which already suffers from the notoriously slow judicial system. It took 18 years for the courts to render judgment on the fire that killed 162 people in the Ozone Disco Club fire. There were only about 20 people indicted in the Ozone case. With over 100 defendants in the Maguindanao massacre, the worst prediction of a trial lasting two centuries is starting to look plausible.

Prosecutors and the courts must dispel this scenario. And authorities must prevent more witnesses from being silenced. The best protection is by catching the killers of the witnesses, and doing more to find the other massacre suspects.