Judiciary flaws exposed

The resultant tragedy is the deprivation of the liberty of the persons adjudged as innocent by the court

The acquittal of 56 individuals accused in the 2009 Maguindanao massacre case pointed to “serious flaws” in the justice system that needed to be corrected, Malacañang said in a surprising assessment of the court ruling which it earlier described as a “triumph of justice.”

Presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo said the “major cause of this aberration” was the filing of charges before the court against any accused, even if the evidence presented before the investigating public prosecutor “cannot sustain a conviction of an accused of a crime to be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.”

He also noted that the “hasty and heedless” filing of information was due “either to the faulty appreciation of evidence by — or the fear of — the investigating prosecutor to be subjected to an administrative sanction or get a reprisal from the complainant if the case is dismissed at the preliminary investigation stage.”

For those who were exonerated from the multiple murder charges, Panelo said theirs were “not an isolated case.”

“The resultant tragedy is the deprivation of the liberty of the persons adjudged as innocent by the court. It is not an isolated case. There are hundreds of similar pending cases in other courts,” he said.

As a result of the acquittal, Panelo noted apart from “throwing away (their) productive years”,” government resources, including man-hours and effort, “have gone to waste.”

Most of those acquitted were policemen assigned to Maguindanao province, several were alleged members of the then-powerful Ampatuan family’s militia, and two were members of the controversial clan accused of orchestrating the crime.

Panelo said the prosecutors have done their best. “We have commended the efforts of our prosecutors — and that commendation is unchanged,” Panelo, a former counsel of Andal Ampatuan Jr. in the Maguindanao massacre case, stressed.

“While the rule of law has prevailed following (Thursday’s) promulgation by the trial court on the case of the Maguindanao massacre, the Palace notes that there are serious flaws in our justice system long-existing and must be rectified if we are to be fealty to the rule of law and due process as enshrined in our Constitution,” he added.

On Thursday, Judge Jocelyn Solis-Reyes of the Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 221 absolved the 56 accused of criminal liability over the 23 November 2009 massacre of 58 people, including 32 media workers, in Ampatuan, Maguindanao.

The decade-old Maguindanao massacre case is dubbed the worst election-related case and the single deadliest attack on journalists in Philippine history.

When asked about the acquittal of two of the principal accused Shariff Saydona mayor Datu Sajid Islam, Datu Akmad Ampatuan along with several other accused, the Department of Justice said it “is something that the prosecution has slightly anticipated.”

“We know from the beginning where our strength lies and where certain gaps in our evidence exist so this is something more or less expected. We’re happy with the decision of the court. We trust that the judge has extensively examined the evidence and we trust in her impartiality in her rendition of this very important judgment,” Guevarra said.

He also gave thanks to both state and private prosecutors involved in this case for the tireless effort they exerted in making sure that judgment will come and the deaths of “so many victims including members of the journalism profession will find their day of redemption”.

Solis-Reyes ruled that the accused police officers were deemed “totally innocent” of the crimes charged against them.

Datu Akmad Ampatuan and Datu Sajid Islam Ampatuan, meanwhile, were exonerated because the prosecution failed to present evidence that they were part of the grisly murder of the 58 victims.

Solis-Reyes, however, sentenced Maguindanao massacre masterminds Datu Andal Ampatuan Jr., Zaldy Ampatuan, and Anwar Ampatuan Sr. to reclusion perpetua or life imprisonment without parole.

About 15 of the 101 accused were slapped with up to 10 years imprisonment for being accessories to the brutal crime.

Panelo acknowledged that the case of the 56 defendants who were exonerated from multiple murder charges was “not an isolated case.”

“The resultant tragedy is the deprivation of the liberty of the persons adjudged as innocent by the court. It is not an isolated case. There are hundreds of similar pending cases in other courts,” he said.

He said the “blindfolded Lady Justice” symbolizes an “impartial proceeding without regard to the social and political status of those haled before the mighty and unforgiving arm of the law, uninfluenced by the torrent of adverse people’s judgment.”

“The government, forever unaffected and unmoved by the infectious winds of public opinion, must pursue and protect this ideal,” Panelo said. “This is one lesson we must all learn lest we repeat the same grievous error at the cost of liberty and honor of the innocents.”

Panelo expressed hope that there would be no repeat of “injustice” experienced by the 56 acquitted in the Maguindanao massacre case.

“An analysis of the court’s judgment shows that 10 years of what could have been productive lives of 56 acquitted accused have been wasted in incarceration, and necessarily their families have since become dysfunctional, with their wives and their children bearing the brunt of the stigma and the humiliation that come with it, scarring them for the rest of their lives,” he said.

“This is an injustice that cannot be countenanced nor continue. It must not find print ever again in the pages of our history as a nation.”

Meanwhile, Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Martin Andanar said he was “satisfied” with the court’s ruling.

Andanar said he respects Solis-Reyes’ decision, as he believed that the latter had to go through a “democratic and judicial” process to ensure the release of a fair ruling.

“Whatever the decision of the judge is, we cannot oppose it,” he said over RMN on Friday.

“This is victory to the media industry sa Pilipinas (in the Philippines). This is also a victory for the media across the world. This is a huge victory for the families of the victims,” Andanar added.