2 Ampatuan grandsons to be arraigned today

MANILA, Philippines - Two grandsons of clan patriarch and former Maguindanao governor Andal Ampatuan Sr. are set to be arraigned today for 58 counts of murder filed against them in connection with the 2009 Maguindanao massacre.

The arraignment of Anwar “Ipi” Ampatuan Jr. and Anwar Sajid “Ulo” Ampatuan in a makeshift court at Camp Bagong Diwa in Bicutan, Taguig City was set after Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 221 Judge Jocelyn Solis-Reyes issued a two-page order last week, denying their appeal on an order junking their respective motions to dismiss the case against them.

In her order, Solis-Reyes said she found the motion filed by the Ampatuans as a mere rehash of their earlier arguments that were already dismissed by the court.

Surname as ‘evidence’

In their motion for reconsideration, the suspects – through their lawyer Emmanuel Brotarlo – urged the court to reverse her earlier ruling and dismiss the case against them as there was no evidence of their involvement in the massacre.

In his motion, Brotarlo asked about the pieces of evidence Solis-Reyes had examined before concluding that there was probable cause for the charges against them.

“The only evidence, if at all, against both accused, during the alleged conduct of preliminary investigation of the subject cases, is their surname which is ‘Ampatuan,’” he said.

Ipi and Ulo claimed that they were in Las Vegas to watch Manny Pacquiao and Miguel Cotto fight days before the Nov. 23, 2009 massacre. They said they were attending a session of the Sangguniang Bayan in Shariff Aguak at the time of the incident.

Earlier, Solis-Reyes dismissed the Ampatuans’ respective pleas to junk the case against them, saying she has already ruled on the existence of probable cause when she issued the arrest warrants against the suspects.

“Since no other pleadings were filed by either of the accused-movants in order to refute the finding of probable cause not only by the panel of investigating prosecutors as well as this court, it is of the view that no cogent reason exists to justify the reversal of such finding,” read the order.

The judge added that the issues raised by the two are more fitting to be considered and weighed in a full-blown trial.

The arraignment of Ipi and Ulo was postponed last Aug. 7 due to the pending motion for reconsideration.

No list needed

In her latest ruling, Solis-Reyes said that there is nothing under the rules “which would require that the judicial finding of probable cause be made in a specific form.”

“Neither it is required that the pieces of evidence which were made the bases for the indictment of an accused be specifically mentioned by the court in its order,” she added.

If the arraignment of the Ampatuans pushes through today, only two arrested suspects have yet to be arraigned for the initial 57 counts of murder filed in connection with the incident.

The two are Talembo Masukat and Sahid Guiamadil, who both claim that they were mistakenly arrested for the massacre.

Meanwhile, at least a dozen arrested suspects have yet to be arraigned for the 58th murder charge, which was only filed in court last year.

A total of 107 suspects have already been arrested for the massacre. Charges against PO1 Johann Draper and former Sultan sa Barongis vice mayor Sukarno Badal have already been dropped.

Fifty-eight people â€“ including 32 members of media – died in the massacre, dubbed as the single worst incident for journalists in history.