By KATHLYN DELA CRUZ and CYRILL YAMBAO
THE supposed arraignment of three suspects in the Ampatuan massacre trial was moved tomorrow afternoon, May 5.
Tato Sampogao, Taya Bangkulat, and Salik Bangkulat were present in court today but claimed they did not understand Filipino and English without an interpreter.
Another accused, Misuari Ampatuan, was the only suspect arraigned in today’s hearing at the Quezon City Jail Annex in Camp Bagong Diwa in Bicutan, Taguig.
Judge Jocelyn Solis-Reyes allowed prime suspect Andal Ampatuan Jr. and other suspects to skip hearings, siding with the defense lawyers, who said they were waiving their clients’ right to appear in court proceedings.
Solis-Reyes said in the morning that all suspects will be compelled to appear in court during trial upon the prosecution lawyers’ request. But she later withdrew her decision after the defense lawyers’ objection.
Since there is no need for the accused to be identified, they cannot be compelled to appear in court, said Sigfrid Fortun, lawyer of the Ampatuan family.
Mangudadatu slams court for delay
Maguindanao Gov. Esmael Mangudadatu showed dismay over the slow pace of the court proceedings.
He said all accused should have been arraigned by April. But until today, only Andal Ampatuan Jr. has been arraigned. There are 28 more suspects.
“Mabagal… Napakabagal. More than one year na, wala pa ring arraignment doon sa matanda [Andal Ampatuan Sr.] (It has been a year since and the family patriarch has not been arraigned. It’s too slow),” he added.
Ampatuan Sr. has been complaining about his aching leg and foot due to his prostate ailment and has been requesting for a full medical examination at a government hospital.
Mangudadatu asserted that Ampatuan Sr. be checked by in-house doctors to ascertain his real health condition.
Solis-Reyes ordered today for a physician from the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology to examine Ampatuan Sr. and submit to the court a report of the results.
Families of the victims likewise expressed disappointment over the arraignment delays.
“Very much delayed. Hindi pa rin nag-a-appear hanggang ngayon si Ampatuan Sr. (Until now Ampatuan Sr. has not appeared before the court),” said Nenita Oquendo, who lost her husband and daughter in the massacre.
Her late daughter, Cynthia, was the Mangudadatus’ official lawyer.
Police Chief Inspector Raymond Cabling, medico-legal of the case, presented a slideshow of gruesome pictures from the massacre and explained the significant features of each photo.
Cabling also discussed five of the eight autopsies he conducted: Andy Teodoro, Abdila Ayada, Wilhelm Palabrica, John Caniban and Mercy Palabrica.
Findings show that even with immediate medical intervention, said victims would still have died given the extent of gunshot wounds caused by high-powered firearms.
Cabling is set to continue with his testimony tomorrow at 9 a.m.
The Ampatuan massacre, tagged as the worst political-related violence in the country, resulted to 58 deaths on Nov. 23, 2009.
(The authors are University of the Philippines students doing their summer internship at VERA Files.)
