MANILA, Philippines—Government prosecutors and judges with jurisdiction over the Maguindanao massacre have received threats and been told to go easy on members of the Ampatuan clan, Justice Secretary Agnes Devanadera said Tuesday.
Devanadera said she herself had received a message from someone “to go slow” on the Ampatuans so they wouldn’t be pinned down for the country’s worst election-related violence.
Lawyer Jose Midas Marquez, Supreme Court spokesperson and deputy court administrator, said the high tribunal had also received information on the threats against judges and court personnel in Cotabato City who were expected to handle the murder charges.
Devanadera said the judges in Cotabato City had gone on leave. The judges, she said, also had received threats.
Marquez said the Supreme Court had received similar information.
The Supreme Court spokesperson said Branch 15 of the Cotabato Regional Trial Court was vacant.
Marquez said the substitute judge of Branch 15 had to inhibit himself because he was a former father-in-law of Gov. Zaldy Ampatuan of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.
He said Chief Justice Reynato Puno had designated Sultan Kudarat Judge Melanio Guerrero as presiding judge of Branch 15 to receive the information against Andal Ampatuan Jr.
Asked if the threats against the Cotabato City judges and court personnel were related to the Maguindanao massacre case, he said: “That seems to be the cause of the threats.”
Marquez said the Supreme Court had coordinated with the Philippine National Police to secure judges and the court itself.
Text messages to prosecutors
“The prosecutors received relayed messages in the same manner that I have received it. Some of our prosecutors received text messages. Some information were relayed by people they know,” Devanadera said.
She said she had received some messages to go slow in the case.
“It just said that they (the Ampatuans) shouldn’t be pinned down like when I said ‘that there would be no sacred cows and that there would be no letup,’” she said.
The Mangudadatus have accused the Ampatuans of masterminding the killing of Bai Genalin Mangudadatu, wife of Buluan Vice Mayor Esmael Mangudadatu, and more than 50 others, including 30 journalists, on Nov. 23.
The vice mayor’s wife, relatives and lawyers were on their way to the Commission on Elections office in Shariff Aguak town to file the gubernatorial candidacy papers of Mangudadatu, who said he had received death threats from the Ampatuans.
The Ampatuan clan led by Maguindanao Gov. Andal Ampatuan Sr. is influential in the province as many of its members hold elective and appointive positions.
Three witnesses said Datu Unsay Mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr. led 100 armed men who flagged down six vehicles carrying 57 people and killed them. The mayor is now detained at the National Bureau of Investigation jail in Manila.
Change venue of trial
The Department of Justice has formally asked the Supreme Court to change the venue of the murder trial against Ampatuan Jr. The trial is currently set at the Cotabato Regional Trial Court.
Devanadera appointed City Prosecutor Edilberto Jamora of General Santos City to oversee the case buildup against the perpetrators of the massacre as part of the response to the threats against prosecutors with jurisdiction over the scene of the crime in Maguindanao.
“(We have taken steps to ensure) the personal safety of the prosecutors, the personal safety of the judges ... Just like this morning we provided security for our prosecutors,” the justice secretary said.
Asked if she was afraid of the threats, the justice secretary said: “I believe this is my job and so this is nothing personal. I’m here in this position and there is no option but for me to do my job. Let’s just pray.”
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