Furlough for Ampatuan massacre suspect slammed

By Vann Marlo M. Villegas

JUSTICE SECRETARY Menardo I. Guevarra on Wednesday conveyed the prosecution’s opposition to the furlough granted to Maguindanao massacre suspect Zaldy U. Ampatuan to attend his daughter’s wedding.
“The prosecution vigorously oppose Zaldy Ampatuan’s motion for furlough to attend his daughter’s wedding, but the court granted the motion for humanitarian reasons,” he told reporters in a mobile message.
The Quezon City Regional Trial Court (RTC), according to its order, granted Mr. Ampatuan’s motion for furlough “to attend the wedding of his daughter, Bai Nor Aila Kristina M. Ampatuan on August 21, 2018 at Sofitel Philippine Plaza Manila, from 4:00 in the afternoon to 7:00 in the evening only.”
“The Court is of the view that despite being a detention prisoner having certain restrictions, accused-movant may be allowed to his eldest daughter’s wedding, which, in our culture, is a significant milestone to be cherished and remembered,” the order read.
“It is a momentous family occasion which must be witnessed and attended by the couple’s loved-ones, especially the accused-movant who will personally bring his eldest daughter to the altar,” it added.
Mr. Ampatuan, former governor of the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao, is among the principal suspects in the Nov. 23, 2009 massacre of 58 persons, 32 of them from the media, in the town of Ampatuan in Maguindanao province. He faces 58 counts of murder and has been detained at Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig since 2010.
In a statement posted on its social media account, the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines also slammed Mr. Ampatuan’s furlough, saying it learned about the provisional liberty through a social-media post by Tawi-Tawi Rep. Ruby Sahali on the wedding.
“While we may understand a parent’s desire to be present at such an important milestone in the life of a child, we stress that the crime of which Mr. Ampatuan is accused is of such a heinous nature that the shock and outrage it stirred around the world forced then President Gloria Arroyo to move against the powerful clan that was among her staunchest allies,” it stated.
With Mr. Ampatuan’s furlough and with bail granted last year to another principal accused, Zaldy’s brother, Sajid Ampatuan, NUJP said: “That and now this, we feel, gives us and the victims’ families more than enough cause to worry about whether we can truly expect justice for this most grievous of crimes.”