Patriarch’s death won’t affect cases – Palace

The cases against the accused in the 2009 Maguindanao massacre will proceed despite the death of Andal Ampatuan Sr., Malacañang said yesterday.

Officials assured the public the prosecution team would not cause delay in the trials.

“The case will proceed, of course, against the other accused who remain alive. When it comes to the case of Andal Ampatuan Sr., the case will be (terminated) because death extinguishes criminal liability,” deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said.

“There are other ways to seek damages but I will leave that to the litigation lawyers to explain,” she said.

Andal Sr. allegedly masterminded the killing of 58 people, including journalists, in November 2009 in an attempt to stop a rival clan in an election race.

The patriarch had been in a coma since Monday after suffering a mild stroke. He died of liver cancer late Friday at the National Kidney Transplant Institute in Quezon City. He was 74.

Valte said the families of the victims had been calling on President Aquino to work for the resolution of the cases within his term.

“We could understand the frustration. We also share their frustration at the pace of (the trials). We understand because there are many accused and not everyone was caught at the same time, so the pace of the legal proceedings against these accused was varied,”

Valte said.

“That is why, since the President acknowledges what the family feels, he has given strict orders to the prosecution under the executive to make sure that they remain vigilant against dilatory tactics or against delay,” she said.

Valte said the President had been telling the prosecution team not to cause delay of the case, though he recognized that the trial is under a separate branch of the government.

“It will be handed down by the presiding judge, so that is a reality that we have to live with. So on the executive side, what we are doing is to ensure that the case is expedited and we do not become the cause of delay and we fight the delays caused by the other side,” she said.