Ampatuan bail plea rejected anew

The Quezon City judge handling the Maguindanao massacre trial has reaffirmed an earlier resolution that dismissed the bail plea of suspect Andal Ampatuan Jr.

In a five-page resolution released this week, Regional Trial Court Branch 221 Judge Jocelyn Solis-Reyes said Ampatuan’s camp failed to present sufficient grounds for her to reverse her earlier order that dismissed his bail petition.

Ampatuan’s camp claimed that the judge erred when she denied his bail plea as she merely relied on testimonial evidence without any corroboration.

The defense likewise noted that the prosecution failed to provide physical evidence that would prove the suspect’s guilt, such as a ballistics reports or analysis of fingerprints and DNA.

But in her ruling, SolisReyes noted that bail proceedings are preliminary in nature and that the court does not expect the prosecution to present all of its evidence.

The judge stressed that the court is not making any judgment on the guilt or innocence of Ampatuan, but merely on the issue of whether or not the evidence is strong.

Last May, Solis-Reyes denied the bail plea of Ampatuan after finding strong evidence that he participated in the massacre that claimed the lives of 58 people, including 32 media practitioners.

Ampatuan and members of the once-powerful political clan were among the 197 suspects initially charged in relation with the massacre, dubbed as the single worst incident for journalists in history.

More than 100 suspects have already been arrested and are currently undergoing different stages in trial. Some of them have already died in prison.

The Ampatuans denied involvement in the massacre.