Maguindanao massacre prosecutor dies

MANILA, Philippines - Another member of the prosecution panel in the Maguindanao massacre case died yesterday morning.

State Prosecutor Nestor Lazaro, 55, succumbed to cardiac failure at the East Avenue Medical Center, Assistant Regional State Prosecutor Peter Medalle, who heads the prosecution panel, manifested in yesterday's hearing.

Medalle said Lazaro had undergone heart bypass surgery and fell into a coma last week.

Private Prosecutor Nena Santos admitted that the rigor of the trial is “taking its toll on us.”

Lazaro is the second prosecution panel member who died after Witness Protection Program Director Leo Dacera’s death in 2010.

Santos told the court that Fiscal Ramoncito Mendoza was added to the panel of prosecutors adding that Prosecutor Liezel Morales is no longer part of the team.