Gov't hopes for speedy resolution of Maguindanao massacre with new witness

MANILA, Philippines (Xinhua) - The government expressed hope today that the Maguindanao massacre case would immediately be resolved after a lower court approved the inclusion of an ex-vice mayor as a state witness.

Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said that Malacanang, the presidential palace, welcomed the decision of Regional Trial Court of Quezon City Branch 221 approving a motion by the prosecution to consider Sukarno Badal as a state witness.

Badal, former vice mayor of the town of Sultan Sa Barongis in the southern province of Maguindanao, is expected to testify on the planning, execution, and cover up of the despicable act, he said.

"We hope the inclusion of Badal as a state witness serves not only to strengthen the prosecution's hand but also to move the trial forward at a faster pace. Like all Filipinos, we want to see this case resolved at the soonest possible time," Lacierda said in a statement.

Some 58 people, mostly journalists, were murdered in November 2009 in Maguindanao, considered to be the worst election-related violence in Philippine history. The killings were allegedly masterminded by some members of the powerful Ampatuan clan.