The accused mastermind, Andal Ampatuan Jr., of the November 23 Maguindanao Massacre was again plead not guilty to 16 addition murder cases filed against him. Ampatuan Jr., a member of a politically powerful Muslim clan that was once allied to President Gloria Arroyo, impassively entered fresh pleas of “not guilty” as relatives of some of the dead wept outside the courtroom. Ampatuan, assisted by his lawyer Sigfrid Fortun, entered the plea during the continuation of his bail hearing at Camp Crame in the courtroom of Quezon City Judge Jocelyn Solis-Reyes.
Andal Ampatuan Jr. is accused of ordering his armed followers to kill about 57 people in the southern province of Maguindanao on November 23 last year in order to prevent a rival from running against him in May elections. The victims included Ampatuan’s rival’s wife and pregnant sister, as well as 30 journalists.
Prosecutors allege the defendant and up to 100 members of his private army stopped the convoy on a highway in Maguindanao, kidnapped the victims at gunpoint and took them to a hillside where they were shot dead.
They were then buried in mass graves, dug by a government-supplied backhoe, intended for civil works projects.
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Posts Tagged ‘ampatuan’
Andal Ampatuan Jr. Plead Not Guilty Again
by admin, on Wed, Feb 3 2010 | 6 Comments
P120 Million Cash Discovered in Ampatuan Compound?
by admin, on Thu, Jan 21 2010 | No Comments
Last Wednesday, police and military operatives raid the compound of Datu Unsay Mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr.’s mother-in-law in Shariff Aguak and recovered more ammunition for high-powered weapons at the compound. But there are talks that there was something else found in the area but not declared.
Several sources claimed that the operatives who raided the compound discovered, but did not declare, 120 million pesos in cold cash stored in cigarette boxes. The informants said the cash found in the compound of Samera Nor Santiago were loaded into military vehicles from Camp Crame and the intelligence unit of the Armed Forces, together with the local police force, before media and the public were allowed access to the area.
The source added that the operatives divided the P120 million among themselves. Earlier, there had been reports that huge sums of money were also found in the other mansions of the Ampatuan clan raided by the police. Then again, only rifles, machine guns, armored personnel carriers and ammunition were declared.
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Andal Ampatuan Jr. Plead Not Guilty
by admin, on Mon, Jan 4 2010 | No Comments
Datu Unsay Mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr. plead not guilty for all the 41 murder charges filed against him by the police in connection with the Maguindanao massacre last November 23.
“[He pleaded] Not guilty to all the 41 charges,” Commission on Human Rights Chairperson Leila de Lima told reporters outside the building of the Philippine National Police’s (PNP) Police Non-Commissioned Officers’ Clubhouse inside Camp Crame, where the trial is being held. Commissioner de Lima said Ampatuan Jr., who looked bored and was yawning all the time during the hearing, entered a not guilty plea to all 41 charges.
After the arraignment last Tuesday, Ampatuan Jr.’s petition for bail started, and the prosecution presented Ric Diaz, head of the National Bureau of Investigation’s (NBI) anti-terrorism unit. Diaz presented photos, videos and other evidence in connection with the massacre. Upon cross examination, Ampatuan Jr.’s lawyer, Sigfrid Fortun, said the evidence was not relevant to the petition.
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Five More Ampatuans and 633 to face Rebellions Raps
by admin, on Wed, Dec 23 2009 | No Comments
Pres. Arroyo posed with the Ampatuan Clan
Five more members of the powerful Ampatuan family and 633 others were summoned by the Department of Justice yesterday to face the preliminary hearing on rebellion charges that stemmed from the Ampatuans suspected participation in the Maguindanao massacre last November 23.
The 5 other Ampatuans summoned by the prosecuting panel are Mamasapano town mayor Banarin Ampatuan, Rajah Buayan town mayor Yacob Ampatuan, Datu Ulo Ampatuan, Datu Ipi Ampatuan and Datu Kanor Ampatuan.
If remembered, 4 other Ampatuan including the clan patriarch Andal Ampatuan Sr. and his sons ARMM governor Zaldy Ampatuan, Sajid Islam Ampatuan and Shariff Aguak mayor Anwar Ampatuan; vice governor Akmad Tato Ampatuan and 19 others were charged for rebellion before the Cotabato regional trial court last week.
Aside from the five other Ampatuans, the Department Of Justice also subpoenaed five other local officials who are suspected to joined the rebellion. They are Sultan sa Barongis town vice mayor Sukarno Badal, Barira town mayor Alexander Tumawis, Datu Undin town mayor Ombra Sinsuat, Parang town mayor Abu Talib and provincial administrator Nurie Unas.
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Rebellion Case Against Ampatuan’s Weakens The Murder Case
by admin, on Thu, Dec 17 2009 | 2 Comments
Datu Andal Ampatuan Sr. and his son ARMM Gov. Zaldy Ampatuan
The rebellion charges are separate from murder cases being prepared against the Ampatuan’s over election-linked massacre of 57 persons in Maguindanao last November 23, Justice Secretary Agnes Devanadera said.
But, according to lawyer Harry Roque the Proclamation 1959 imposing martial law in parts of Maguindanao has weakened the case of prosecutors since a lot of the evidence that could have been used in the murder case was obtained without warrants.
“As a lawyer of some of the victims in the massacre, our case has been weakened because a lot of the evidence gathered by authorities was taken without warrants, which we can no longer use. It’s what we call the fruit of the poisoned tree. If it is illegally obtained, we cannot use it in court,” Atty. Roque said in an interview.
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