Alleged payoff attempts in massacre trial

MANILA, Philippines - Lakmodin Saliao, the prosecution witness who recently bared the alleged bribery of Department of Justice Undersecretary Francisco Baraan III, has revealed past attempts to allegedly bribe those involved in the Maguindanao massacre case.

Court records, accessed by The STAR yesterday, showed that Saliao – in his testimony on Sept. 15, 2010 – claimed he was instructed by former Maguindanao governor Andal Ampatuan Sr. to ask the latter’s spiritual adviser to give four people P10 million each: former press secretary Jesus Dureza, Maguindanao board member Mike Midtimbang, and massacre suspects Sukarno Dicay and Rainer Ebus.

Saliao said the money for Dureza was in exchange for Ampatuan’s freedom in the rebellion case filed against him. Dureza has vehemently denied the bribery allegations.

Saliao, meanwhile, said the money for Midtimbang was in exchange “for taking care of” Ampatuan and his staff while they were in Camp Panacan in Davao City. The amount in question was later increased to P20 million, the transcript of the testimony showed.

Saliao was Ampatuan’s caretaker prior to his decision to become a witness for the prosecution. He said the money for the two suspects – who, in earlier reports, said they refused the bribes – was allegedly in exchange for them to retract their statements.

The prosecution earlier sought to convert Ebus into a state witness. The issue is pending before the Court of Appeals. Dicay, on the other hand, remained an accused for the massacre.

Aside from the four, Saliao also revealed in his testimony a supposed order by Ampatuan to give P200 million to Umbra Sinsuat, who was “anointed” by the clan patriarch to run for provincial governor.

He lost to Esmael Mangudadatu, the husband of Genalyn, who led the convoy of 58 people who were killed in the Nov. 23, 2009 bloodbath.

P5 M for Saliao

In Saliao’s subsequent testimony on June 29, 2011, public prosecutor Nestor Lazaro revealed in open court that Ampatuan allegedly tried to bribe the witness with P5 million to retract his earlier statements.

Lazaro said Saliao would have stated this in court if the question on when he last met with Ampatuan was allowed to be asked.

Defense lawyer Sigfrid Fortun questioned the relevance as it is not related to the murder case. The court sustained Fortun’s objection.

Bribe for victims’ heirs

Last year, private prosecutor Harry Roque said families of 14 victims of the massacre signed a written authority allowing a “close associate” of the Ampatuan political clan to negotiate with the suspects.

“Under this scheme, the victims were to sign not just a waiver and quitclaim, but also an affidavit pinning the blame for the massacre on (Mangudadatu),” he said in a blog post.

The amount offered was allegedly set at P50 million. The negotiations, however, did not push through, said Roque.

Mangudadatu also claimed that someone approached him in 2011 and offered P150 million in exchange for dropping the case. He has since maintained that he will never accept a bribe and that he will pursue the case.

The Ampatuans have repeatedly denied allegations of bribery.