MANILA, Philippines - Datu Unsay Mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr., the primary suspect in the massacre of 57 people in Maguindanao last year, pleaded not guilty yesterday to multiple counts of murder.
Ampatuan Jr., represented by lawyer Sigfrid Fortun as defense counsel, entered the plea of not guilty during the trial presided by Quezon City regional trial court Branch 221 Judge Jocelyn Solis-Reyes at the Philippine National Police (PNP) headquarters at Camp Crame.
“Not guilty,” Fortun told the court when asked to enter a plea as Ampatuan Jr., dressed in a pink and white striped polo shirt, stood beside him.
“The accused was arraigned and entered a plea of not guilty for 41 counts of murder,” Solis-Reyes later announced before a jampacked court.
General Santos City (PIA 12) -- The hijacked foreign boats brought to this city and purportedly transacted for sale have brought grave concern from the government especially in giving the area a bad image.
In a press conference, Secretary Jesus Dureza, national director of the Act for Peace Programme, GOP-UNDP and chairman of the Mindanao National Development Authority (MINDA) said there is cause for concern here since the Philippines particularly Mindanao is part of the Brunei-Indonesia-Malaysia and the Philippines East Asean Growth Area (BIMPA- EAGA) where close trade relations are being promoted.
"This will give a bad picture. We have to prosecute this case. The culprits cannot just get away with this piracy transaction," Dureza averred.
The case which is now being prosecuted by the City Prosecutors Office, Department of Justice in General Santos City involves two Malaysian vessels ? Atlantic 3, a tug boat and Atlantic 5, a towing barge owned by Axsonic Shipping. The company, according to the report of the Coast Guard District Southeastern Mindanao (CGDSEM), lost contact with their boats on April 27. The boats left Tanjung Ayam, Johor, Malaysia for Kintap,, South Kalimantan.
The nine crew of Atlantic 3 (six Indonesians, two Malaysians and one Myanmar national) in a life raft found off Vietnam were rescued by the Vietnamese Navy on May 3, 2010.
The incident was reported to the Singapore-based Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery Against Ships in Asia-Information Sharing Center (ReECAAP-ISC) which coordinated with the counterparts in the region including the Philippines..
Devanadera belies claim that Ampatuan Jr. can't understand Filipino language
MANILA, Jan. 6 (PNA) -- Justice Acting Secretary and concurrent Solicitor General Agnes Devandera on Wednesday belied the claims of the legal counsel of Datu Unsay, Maguindanao mayor Andal Ampatuan, Jr. that his client could not understand the Filipino language.
Ampatuan, Jr., who is the principal accused in the brutal slaying of 57 civilians, including 15 women and 30 media practitioners in Ampatuan town, Maguindanao last November 23, was arraigned and his petition for bail was heard by Quezon City Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 221 Presiding Judge Jocelyn Solis-Reyes at the Headquarters of the Philippine National Police (PNP) in Camp Crame, Quezon City on Tuesday.
Lawyer Sigfrid Fortun, the legal counsel of Ampatuan, Jr., on Tuesday said that the charges should be read in Maguindanaoan because his client could not understand both the English and Filipino languages.
In a television interview, Devanadera said that she personally talked to Ampatuan, Jr. in Filipino language.
"You know when we were in GenSan (General Santos City), I myself talked to him. He was able to converse with me," Devanadera said in Tagalog, adding that, the accused town mayor had received information from her and that he had understood the instructions well.
The DOJ chief also said that the hearing went well in the sense that they had anticipated the other possible delaying tactics that the respondents might use.
Devanadera also said that they were happy that some of the tactics they were assuming the respondents would use did not materialize.
When asked whether the Department of Justice (DOJ) would recommend the transfer of Ampatuan, Jr. to the Quezon City Jail, she said that the accused mayor was still considered as a high risk prisoner, and that, as such, his safety should be ensured.
"The government should maintain the safety of the detainee. The important thing is that Mayor Unsay can attend the hearing," she said.
Devanadera also said that the Justice department would come up with some arrangements to provide full protection while the case was being heard.
She further said that they are also happy with the outcome of the first hearing.
Illegal gambling activities in Region 12 slow down as PNP crackdown continues
GENERAL SANTOS CITY, July 16 (PNA) – Police authorities in Region 12 or Southwestern declared Friday that illegal gambling operations in the region have started to slow down due to their continuing crackdown against suspected gambling operators and financiers in the area.
Chief Supt. Felicisimo Khu, Region 12 police director, said they already accomplished at least 192 anti-illegal gambling operations from April to June in various key cities and municipalities of the region.
Region 12 covers the provinces of South Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Sarangani, North Cotabato and the cities of General Santos, Koronadal, Tacurong, Kidapawan and Cotabato.
“These operations mainly led to the closure of a significant number of last two betting stations and the arrest of several suspected operators and their couriers,” Khu said.
The police official directed in April an intensified crackdown against illegal gambling and illegal drug activities, which he noted have already become rampant in the area.
Khu specifically directed each police station to launch at least four successful anti-illegal gambling and two anti-illegal drug operations every month.
“We have to admit that these illegal activities have become rampant during the previous months and this was proven by our 192 successful operations since April,” he said.
Ampatuan mansions in Maguindanao subjected to grenade attacks
COTABATO CITY, Jan. 4 (PNA) – The palatial homes of former Maguindanao Gov. Andal Ampatuan Sr. in Shariff Aguak, Maguindanao were subjected to two grenade attacks Sunday night, police and military authorities said.
Nobody was hurt in the incident but the twin incidents which occurred in succession triggered panic and fear among the residents, according to Senior Supt. Alex Lenesis.
Lenesis, acting Maguindanao provincial director, said an M-79 grenade launcher was fired from nowhere and it landed at the back of a mosque inside the compound of Ampatuan’s palatial homes at about 10 p.m.
Jack Ampatuan, mayor of nearby Raja Buayan town but resides in Shariff Aguak, said the grenade explosions were among the nightly incidents that have been happening in the town center despite the presence of military and police personnel.
The Ampatuan mansion is being secured by Philippine Army troopers since December 5 when the Ampatuan patriarch was arrested and later brought to Davao City.
Lenesis said while police and military conducted joint investigation at the blast site, another M-79 grenade launcher exploded at the back of Petron gas station, some 100 meters away from Ampatuan mansion.
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