Solon offers ways to quickly resolve Maguindanao massacre with justice

Press Release
November 28, 2010

QUEZON CITY  –  Dasmariñas City Rep. Elpidio Barzaga Jr., a former prosecution lawyer for 22 years, has offered "practical and sensible" ways for the court and the Department of Justice (DOJ) to accelerate the resolution of the Maguindanao massacre.

"A year after the carnage, out of the 196 individuals supposed to face trial, only 82 have actually been apprehended, leaving 114 others still subject to arrest and arraignment. Only 15 individuals are in fact undergoing trial," Barzaga lamented.

Barzaga recalled that shortly after the 1986 EDSA Revolution, he had the opportunity to handle high-priority consolidated cases before the Sandiganbayan.

To quicken the proceedings then, he said the Presiding Justice of the anti-graft court scheduled continuous morning and afternoon hearings every day over one week of each month.

Barzaga proposed the following:

-That Judge Jocelyn Solis-Reyes be obligated to conduct continuous morning and afternoon hearings on the case, and that all the other cases currently assigned to her be re-raffled and reassigned to other trial judges;

-That a team of DOJ prosecutors, possibly not less than 10, be assigned full-time to handle the case, totally free of other cases and other legal work, including the necessary preliminary investigation;

-That a unit from the Public Attorney's Office be designated to assist all of the accused all the time, so that should a private defense counsel fail to show up during the proceedings, the PAO lawyers could immediately step in as counsel de officio, thus preventing the deferment of any hearings; and

-That the photographs of the 114 individuals supposed to face trial but who remain scot-free be published in the newspapers with ample rewards for information leading to their capture.

In a recent Social Weather Stations survey, the public gave a poor net rating of -12 percent to government efforts to resolve the Maguindanao killings with justice, with 47 percent dissatisfied, and only 35 percent satisfied, with the handling of the case.

A separate Pulse Asia survey showed that while an overwhelming majority of Filipinos believe there would be justice for the 57 victims of the mass slaughter, 83 percent also bewailed that the case was moving "slowly or very slowly."

Barzaga expressed confidence the public's negative perception of the handling of the case would be rectified "once they see that no effort is being spared to quickly resolve it with justice."

He said a swift prosecution would satisfy not only the public's agitation for a prompt judicial resolution, but also the constitutional right of those accused to a speedy trial.

Without observing the appropriate procedure in expediting the proceedings, and with some 600 witnesses lined up to be presented, Barzaga warned it could take several years before any case could be submitted for decision.

Over an extended period, he said potential developments such as the presiding judge getting promoted, or the prosecutors becoming judges, could further stall the proceedings.