Manila (Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN) - The offer of a suspected mastermind in the Philippines' gruesome massacre to turn state's evidence to government prosecutors has drawn warnings against a ploy by a wolf in sheep's clothing. It is seen as an act to save not only his own skin but that of his family accused of carrying out the grisly massacre of 57 people, including 32 journalists in Maguindanao, Philippine in November 2009.
In a statement, the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) expressed strong support for Justice Secretary Leila De Lima's decision to reject the offer of Zaldy Ampatuan, former governor of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.
"A wolf in sheepskin could devour the effort for justice," the NUJP said, calling the former governor's proposal a "ploy" and warning of "hidden attempts to eventually save the clan from prosecution."
"This we should make clear: we don't need to get one big fish off the net in order to catch another two. The smaller fishes already hooked all of them in," the group said.
"But more than this, the Ampatuan massacre is symbolic of everything that is wrong with our system of governance," it added.
"It is not just the killers who are on trial. It is also a trial of whether this administration is able or willing to deliver on its pledge of justice and good governance."
Nena Santos, the counsel of Maguindanao Gov. Esmael "Toto" Mangudadatu, whose wife and sisters were among those killed, and of several other families of the victims, reacted strongly to reports that the Ampatuan family was seeking the intercession of Malaca?ang (presidential palace).
Santos said that she was seeking a meeting between President Aquino and the victims' families.
"The heirs of the victims as well as the state witnesses whose families were subjected to death threats are very much afraid of what the government is allegedly doing to grant Zaldy Ampatuan's request as state witness," Santos told the President in a message.
Santos said the governor "will destroy the massacre case as we have already started the trial of 89 accused, including Zaldy Ampatuan's younger brother Andal Jr. and his father Andal Sr."
She said that the prosecution witnesses had pointed to the former governor as among those who had taken part in the planning of the massacre.
Santos, the other private lawyers and the public prosecutors at the forefront of the massacre trial on Tuesday had their weekly case conference and discussed Zaldy's bombshell. It was a story none of them were buying, Santos said.
Enough witnesses
In Kidapawan City, southern Philippines, relatives of lawyer Connie Brizuela, who was among those killed in Maguindanao, opposed Zaldy's move, stressing the number of prosecution witnesses was more than enough to pin down the Ampatuans.
"What for? For him to clear his name and eventually to liberate himself from being incarcerated? No thanks but we don't need his statement anymore for he will be saying the same thing," said Manuel Jaime, Brizuela's younger brother.
In Koronadal City, South Cotabato, Freddie Solinap, who lost five of his newspaper staff in the massacre, said Zaldy Ampatuan knew about the massacre from the start and did nothing to stop it.
"I think it's only part of the tactics of Ampatuan's legal team to save their clients' properties," Solinap said, adding that getting Zaldy out of jail would only bring more trouble to Maguindanao. "We know what they are capable of. Their men are still out there."
Glaring insincerity
In Davao City, lawyer Carlos Isagani Zarate, a convenor of the Alliance Against Impunity, said the "insincerity of Zaldy's turnaround is glaring."
"It comes nearly two years since the gruesome murder and through all this time, he has been evading to face the courts on his complicity in the crime through various legal maneuverings and harassment of witnesses. In fact, he has not been arraigned to date," Zarate said.
"This tactic reeks of ulterior motives, as we doubt this offer is possibly a tactic concocted by the Ampatuan warlords to let Zaldy off the hook so he can have a free hand to consolidate their family's remaining wealth and power, and further threaten the witnesses to turn the case in favor of the accused," he added.
Why Zaldy silent for 2 years
But for Zaldy's sister, Rebecca Ampatuan, fear of their father, Andal Sr., could have been the reason it took almost two years for the former governor to speak up.
"We love our parents and as children we remain obedient. But at times there were decisions and acts where we differed and strongly opposed which we kept to ourselves," said Rebecca, the oldest of the Ampatuan siblings.
Rebecca said Zaldy could have finally broken his silence to save himself and the other accused that had nothing to do with the mass murder. With reports from Nikko Dizon, Carlo Agamon, Jeffrey M. Tupas and Charlie C. Senase
