Judge allows Andal Jr., others to skip massacre hearings

source: gma

Lawyers of the Ampatuan family members implicated in the infamous Maguindanao massacre on Wednesday succeeded in convincing the Quezon City court handling the case not to require their clients to appear in court.

Judge Jocelyn Solis-Reyes, earlier during Wednesday’s hearing, agreed to the prosecution’s request to compel prime suspect Andal Ampatuan Jr. and other arraigned suspects to appear before the court during trial.

The proceedings are being held at the Quezon City Jail Annex inside Camp Bagong Diwa in Bicutan, Taguig.

“They are not on bail. They are detained and they are charged with a capital offense so they should be here," said private prosecutor Nena Santos.

But before Judge Solis-Reyes ended the day’s hearing, defense lawyers aired their objection, insisting that their camp has already signified to the court that they were waiving their clients’ right to appear in the proceedings.

Clan patriarch Andal Sr. and Andal Jr.’s lawyer Sigfrid Fortun said under court rules, the prosecution cannot compel an accused to appear in court. He said the only time an accused is required to attend hearings is during arraignment, promulgation, or when there is a need to positively identify a suspect.

Fortun cited Section 114 of the Rules of Court allowing an accused to give up his right to be present in court proceedings. “Unless the prosecution can present a case law to support its request, our clients cannot be compelled to appear," he said.

Judge Solis-Reyes ultimately withdrew her earlier ruling and sided with the defense, allowing the accused to skip the hearings.

source: gma