THE advocacy group Center for International Law (Centerlaw ) launched Friday an electronic resource of public documents relating to the trial of the Ampatuans and their accomplices for the mass murder of 58 people, 32 of them journalists, in Ampatuan, Maguindanao exactly three years ago.
The e-resource “Ampatuan Files” contains scans of the documents filed in the Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 221 by the prosecution and defense lawyers, as well as orders issued by the court, sourced mostly from the Roque & Butuyan Law Offices, which provides it legal services.
The court has been hearing the consolidated criminal case People of the Philippines vs Andal “Unsay” Ampatuan Jr., et al.
CenterLaw has been assisting the heirs of 13 journalists and media workers killed, as well as the heirs of two civilians accidentally included in the convoy of victims.
Centerlaw stressed that the website is not the official source of the documents.
Ampatuan Files initially started as a personal project of Mylah Reyes-Roque, a journalist married to one of the private prosecution lawyers. (Disclosure: Reyes-Roque contributes to VERA Files.)
The site was inspired by the Maguindanao words matakapala, bantang and kawagib for transparency, truth and justice.
The Case Files fall under four categories. Only the “Multiple Murder Cases” category have scans at the moment.
The four categories:
- Multiple Murder Cases includes the Information for Murder filed against the accused, the criminal cases consolidated before the Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 221, the appeals filed by the defense before the higher courts; and the petition for media coverage.
- Administrative/Graft and Corruption includes all administrative cases against implicated government officials, military and police.
- Civil and Other Cases includes the civil case for damages filed by heirs of victims; as well as the money laundering case filed against the Ampatuans.
- Cases against Prosecutors includes the contempt and libel charges filed against state and private prosecutors.