By CYRILL YAMBAO and KATHLYN DELA CRUZ
FAMILIES of the Ampatuan massacre victims were up in arms over the one-week delay of the arraignment of three accused.
The arraignment of suspects Tato Sampogao, Taya Bangkulat, and Salik Bangkulat was scheduled this afternoon but was reset to Wednesday, May 11, at the Quezon City Jail Annex in Camp Bagong Diwa, Bicutan, Taguig.
“Kahapon inaasahan namin na tuloy-tuloy na yun, eh hanggang ngayon wala pa rin (We expected the arraignment to proceed as scheduled today but it did not),” said Myrna Reblando, wife of slain Manila Bulletin reporter Alejandro “Bong” Reblando.
Reblando commented that the law seems to be favoring the defense, adding that they, the victims, are always on the losing end.
“Ano pa bang kailangan gawin para matuloy yung arraignment na iyon at bakit ayaw nilang matuloy, lalo na yung mga abogado ng mga akusado? (What else do we have to do to push for the arraignment; why are the lawyers of the accused acting like they don’t want this to proceed?),” she said.
Reblando and the other victims’ relatives also questioned why Andal Ampatuan Sr. still hasn’t appeared in court.
Lawyer Harry Roque, who represents the families of 14 victims, said the non-arraignment of all suspects slows down the entire process, as new witnesses are invited for testimonies.
“The whole process is already tedious — one witness [consumes] three meetings,” Roque said. “If we’re going to have 500 witnesses, can you imagine 1,500 hearing days?”
In the hearing today, Police Chief Inspector Raymond Cabling discussed the remaining three autopsies of victims Eduardo Lechonsito, Fernando Razon, and Daryll delos Reyes.
Defense lawyers then started the cross examination of evidences, particularly on the slideshow photos of Cabling.
Sigfrid Fortun, lawyer of the Ampatuan family, inquired about nearby structures to the crime scene, as well as roads and pathways leading to the site. He also clarified what the markings were on the backhoe used to bury the victims; it was labeled as under the administration of former Maguindanao Gov. Andal Ampatuan Sr.
Based on the photos taken by the police officer, Fortun questioned if Cabling personally thought sexual abuse through penetration was possible given that the female victims’ trousers were unbuttoned and unzipped but pulled up to normal level. Cabling said it was not possible.
Lawyer Charlton Romero also interrogated Cabling on his duties as a medico-legal officer. Romero said Cabling’s personal documentation of the crime was not complete because he only took photos and did not write down notes.
Cabling said producing a written report was the job of another member of the Scene of the Crime Operatives Region XII team.
Romero also pointed out graphical errors in Cabling’s anatomical diagrams, but the medico-legal expert clarified that these were only typographical errors probably caused by lack of sleep three days following the massacre.
On Nov. 23, 2009, 58 were killed in the worst election-related violence in the country.
(The authors are University of the Philippines students doing their summer internship at VERA Files.)