Court affirms bail denial for Zaldy

MANILA, Philippines - The Quezon City judge handling the Maguindanao massacre trial has affirmed her earlier ruling that denied the bail petition of former Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao governor Zaldy Ampatuan.

In a four-page order, Regional Trial Court Branch 221 Judge Jocelyn Solis-Reyes junked the request of Ampatuan for the reversal of her earlier order that denied his bail plea.

The judge stressed that the court could not make a conclusion that Ampatuan did not perform any criminal act as it would require a determination of the merits of the case, which is not the subject of a bail petition.

On Sept. 15, Solis-Reyes issued a joint order that denied the bail plea of Ampatuan.

She said the prosecution has established clearly, strongly and convincingly that the accused participated in the alleged meetings that resulted in the Nov. 23, 2009 massacre.

Citing prosecution witnesses, the judge noted that Ampatuan was supposedly heard to have uttered words during the meetings, to the effect that he was supporting the plan.