“From the very start of the case, there seems to be a concerted effort on the part of the Ampatuan family to spare Zaldy from incarceration.

Today is the day of reckoning for both the accused and the victims of the Ampatuan massacre case. Billed as the “single deadliest election related violence” and as the “deadliest attack on journalists worldwide,” the massacre involves at least 58 counts of murder against 197 accused. One hundred one of them will find out today if they will go scot-free or rot in jail for a lifetime. It’s a much-anticipated promulgation which is being watched not only in the country, but by the entire world. At stake is the integrity of our entire justice system, if not of Philippine democracy itself. A guilty verdict will show that our institutions can work, albeit slowly. A verdict of not guilty will mean the triumph of impunity given the barbaric means by which all 58 victims were killed.

While I have said that the 10 years that lasted before today’s promulgation is simply unacceptable given the victims’ right to a speedy and adequate remedy under domestic law, still a guilty verdict — particularly against members of the Ampatuan family — would be the best Christmas gift that the victims could get. And yes, after the excruciating long wait, our criminal justice system should accord them a guilty verdict if only so that the victims, as part of reparations due them, could finally move on given that their rights would have been finally vindicated.

I met with our 19 clients yesterday and warned them of the certainty that there would not be a 100 percent conviction rate contrary to the views expressed earlier by a fellow private prosecutor. At least 16 policemen and now Mayor Sajid Ampatuan have been granted bail purportedly because the evidence of their guilt is “not strong.” Chances are those granted bail will be acquitted.

Moreover, the betting is really whether the Ampatuan half- brothers, former ARRM Governor Zaldy and Unsay, could both be found guilty. Already, I am apprehensive that the two months of hospital confinement of Zaldy in the posh Makati Medical Center may be an indication of the judge’s predisposition. From the very start of the case, there seems to be a concerted effort on the part of the Ampatuan family to spare Zaldy from incarceration. In fact, their line is “jail the bad boy Unsay, but spare Zaldy.”

This is, of course, crap. Witnesses positively identified Zaldy as having actively participated in the planning of the massacre. This makes him equally liable as a co-conspirator under the principle that where conspiracy is established, the act of one is the act of all. I will acknowledge that as late as December 2018, I was approached by a couple, who were apparently related to the Ampatuans, to convince me that only Unsay is guilty. Perhaps, the Ampatuans know that unless they have an heir apparent to the late Andal Sr., who passed away while in detention, the family will wither away politically and, hence, also economically.

There, too, is the issue of civil damages which are deemed instituted with the criminal cases against the accused. We asked for P20 million each for our clients in terms of moral damages, for the mental anguish caused the private complainants because of the barbaric manner by which their loved ones were killed and compensation for loss of earning capacity, actual damages and exemplary damages to serve by way of example to others that the state particularly condemns the killing of journalists as additionally an affront on press freedom.

I should not second-guess how the court will decide. That would be contempt of court. Besides, we will already find out before the day ends. Nonetheless, I will say that I am confident that the prosecution did its very best to discharge their burden of proving both the murders and the conspiracy beyond a reasonable doubt. There were eyewitnesses to both the killing and the planning, There, too, was physical evidence to prove cruelty and other qualifying circumstances to prove murder. Moreover, the identities of both the victims and the perpetrators were established by evidence. We leave the rest to the judge and to God.

But after 10 years, thank yous are also in order. First, our thanks to the general public for their unwavering support for the victims despite the lapse of 10 long years. Thanks, too, to international media groups that enabled us to conduct our own investigation at the crime scene at a time when the local police force failed to discharge their duty to investigate. Thanks are also in order to benefactors who provided support for the transportation and board and lodging for the victims in their many trips to Manila to attend the trials of the case. We thank also the nuns and priests that gave the victims and our witnesses safe haven when the state itself refused to give protection to them. And of course, our continuing thanks to the Philippine media for keeping the massacre alive in the hearts and minds of the Filipino people. Without the vigilance of the Philippine media, the massacre itself would have been buried in the trash bin of history in the same way that the perpetrators of this horrendous crime attempted to bury the remains and even the vehicles that they were then riding at the time of the massacre. Thanks of course to the tireless public prosecutors who had to deal with combative defense counsels and even a petty private prosecutor. Maraming salamat po sa inyong lahat. Today would not have been possible if not for all the support that the nation gave to the victims in the past decade. Thank you!