State prosecutors protest DoJ chief ruling on Ampatuans
By Dona Pazzibugan
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 12:53:00 04/19/2010
Filed Under: Protest, Judiciary (system of justice), Crime, Maguindanao Massacre
Close this MANILA, Philippines -- The country's top state prosecutors publicly defied their superior, Acting Justice Secretary Alberto Agra, over his controversial resolution last Friday clearing two prominent Ampatuan clan members of involvement in the massacre in Maguindanao last November.
No less than Chief State Prosecutor Claro Arellano led the protest of state prosecutors over Agra's resolution issued Friday afternoon absolving Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao Governor Zaldy “Puti†Ampatuan and his cousin Mayor Akmad “Tato†Ampatuan Sr. of Mamasapano, Maguindanao from the murder case.
“The Department of Justice is supposed to be the sword and shield of law and order. We are deeply concerned that the resolution will all the more convince a long skeptical public that our criminal justice system is impotent when the accused are politically influential,†Arellano said in a statement he read at the steps of the Department of Justice building in Manila Monday morning.
“We pray and hope that despite difficulties and setbacks, justice will ultimately be served to the victims of this tragedy. It is along this line that we earnestly and respectfully request Acting Secretary Agra to revisit this resolution," Arellano said.
“Otherwise, we dishonor the primary reason for which our institution exists and its very name: the Department of Justice,†he stressed.
He issued the statement on behalf of the members of the National Prosecution Service and the panel of prosecutors handling the multiple murder case filed against 197 suspects, including members of the Ampatuan clan and their supporters, for what has been considered the most brutal election-related killings committed in memory.
“As professional career prosecutors, it pains us to publicly disagree with the resolution of the Secretary of Justice. We recognize the appellate jurisdiction of the Secretary and his authority over us,†Arellano said.
“But we being in the frontline still believe with due respect that there is probable cause to indict the two accused,†he stressed.
Disputing Agra's claim that there was no witness against Zaldy and Akmad Ampatuan, Arellano said there was a witness who positively identified the two as among those who conspired to murder 57 people, 31 of whom were journalists, to prevent a political rival from running against Mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr. for Maguindanao governor.
“It is a rule in evidence that positive identification by a witness prevails over a negative assertion. Interestingly and ironically, while Secretary Agra basically implies that witness Kenny Dalandag is very credible as to his positive identification of the other accused during the planning of the murders, he is not at all credible when he identified Zaldy Ampatuan,†Arellano said.
He said the supposed plane tickets, flight manifests and phone statements submitted by Zaldy Ampatuan “have yet to stand scrutiny through cross-examination†in court.
“The resolution basically redefined the plain and ordinary meaning of “probable cause,†he said.
"This is not the role of the DoJ in a preliminary investigation or in a petition for review. This is the sole function of the courts. Our task is merely to determine probable cause,...
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