No politics for now for massacre suspect

MANILA, Philippines - Politics is taking a backseat – at least for now – on the mind of Maguindanao massacre suspect Sajid Islam Ampatuan, who was released on bail after more than five years in detention at Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig City.

“It’s too early to discuss politics,” his lawyer Gregorio Marquez told The STAR yesterday. “He is just enjoying his freedom and would want to spend time with his family.”

Sajid Islam, son of clan patriarch and former Maguindanao governor Andal Ampatuan Sr., was released from detention at past 6 p.m. on Monday, according to Quezon City Jail-Annex warden Senior Inspector Lloyd Gonzaga.

His release came after Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 221 Judge Jocelyn Solis-Reyes approved the P11.6-million surety bond that he earlier posted in exchange for his temporary freedom.

Marquez said Sajid Islam had dinner with his relatives following his release. He said his client has decided to stay in Manila rather than return to Maguindanao.

Reacting to the suspect’s release, lawyer Harry Roque, who represents the families of some of the victims, expressed alarm “that an Ampatuan was released a year and two months before the elections.”

But Marquez said politics is still far from his client’s mind.

He did not rule out the possibility, however, that Sajid Islam would seek a political post in the next elections, noting that his wife Zandria Sinsuat Ampatuan is the incumbent mayor of the municipality of Shariff Saydona Mustapha. – With Ramil Bajo