MANILA, Philippines – After pleading not guilty to multiple murder charges filed against him, Andal Ampatuan Sr. now wants to post bail.

Ampatuan’s lawyer Gregorio Narvasa yesterday told reporters that they intend to file a petition to allow the clan patriarch to post bail.

Narvasa’s co-counsel Sigrid Fortun also manifested Ampatuan’s intent before presiding Judge Jocelyn Solis-Reyes.

Ampatuan Sr. is among the 196 accused in the slaughter of 57 people on Nov. 23, 2009 in Maguindanao. It is considered the most violent election-related crime in the country’s history.

His son and namesake, Andal Ampatuan Jr., the principal accused in the case, was the first to ask the court to allow him to post bail. His bail petition has yet to be decided upon by the court.

During the pre-trial conference yesterday, Solis-Reyes granted Ampatuan Sr.’s waiver of appearance during hearings subject to certain conditions.

The clan patriarch must be present whenever he is required by the court for identification and during promulgation of judgement.

The prosecution panel has also asked the court to drop from the charge sheet suspect Sukarno Badal and turn him into a state witness.

Badal was a municipal officer of Ampatuan town.

“His (Badal’s) testimony will be very important because he was at the crime scene on the day of the massacre,” said a member of the prosecution panel who requested anonymity.

Yesterday, Solis-Reyes gave the defense panel five days to file its comment or opposition to the prosecution’s motion.

Also yesterday, Solis-Reyes said she “merely noted without action” the prosecution’s motion to arraign all of the accused in the massacre case because it failed to include a notice of hearing in the motion, a violation of the rules of court.

The prosecution, in turn, intends to re-file the same motion.

Live trial woes

The remaining hearings of the multiple murder case may soon be broadcast live after the Supreme Court (SC) allowed live coverage of the trial.

In the guidelines provided by the SC, its public information office will install a camera inside the hearing room of the Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 221 and feed footage to accredited television and radio stations.

The SC said the multiple murder case is an exception to the general rule that prohibits the airing of court trials because of the “impossibility of accommodating all interested parties.”

Among the rules for the live coverage are that the proceedings may be broadcast without voice-overs, except brief annotations of scenes that need to be explained to the public.

Coverage must be continuous with no commercial breaks.

Media entities that want to take part in the live broadcast shall apply for accreditation with the trial court.

President Aquino, one of the petitioners for the live broadcast, lauded the SC decision, saying it would lessen the expenses to be incurred by the families of the victims who would have to travel to Manila to attend the hearings.

A member of the prosecution panel who asked not to be identified said allowing live coverage of the trial could endanger the lives of prosecution witnesses.

“With the live media coverage, we are violating the confidentiality of their membership to the witness protection program... We don’t want them exposed,” the prosecutor said.

The prosecutor also said the public “may not be conversant” with the procedures of the court and “might think this is all drama, considering the annotation during the broadcast would be limited.”

Assistant State Prosecutor Amor Robles said it is not only the lives of the witnesses that may be endangered because of exposure but also theirs.

“We are really afraid for our security because we will be easily identified now when the trial is aired live,” she said. “We are only given security when there’s a hearing. Honestly, we hope there’s no more live coverage.”

The prosecution panel of the Department of Justice is chaired by Assistant Regional State Prosecutor Pete Medalle and also includes Assistant State Prosecutors Romeo Martin Seranilla and Grace Ruiz.   

Justice Secretary Leila de Lima said, however, that the live broadcast of proceedings would allow her to monitor the performance of her prosecutors.

De Lima replaced the former panel of state prosecutors last March for various reasons, including their lack of zeal in pursuing the case.

Private prosecutor Harry Roque said that on the business side, the rule makes it “irrational for the (broadcast) stations to air it for free.”

He said he would file a motion to seek clarification on the guidelines.

The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP), one of the groups that pushed for live coverage of the trial, said the requirement of a continuous coverage might discourage networks from broadcasting the trial.

“Stations that cannot afford not to have ads (advertisements) would most likely opt not to cover live. If most networks decide against live coverage then the public is denied access,” said NUJP secretary Rowena Paraan.

SC spokesman Midas Marquez said the conditions set by the court in allowing live broadcast of the trial are necessary to strike a balance between the public’s right to information and the rights of the accused.

“What we want to give the people is a complete picture of the remaining hearings. They have to know exactly what goes on in the courtroom,” he said.

He also said that media entities that requested to take part in the live coverage - including major television networks ABS-CBN 2 and GMA 7 - are expected to make a sacrifice.

“This should not be business where we want to earn profits. This should be public service for the nation’s interest,” Marquez said.

Marquez also assured the public that the rights of the witnesses and the accused would be protected. For instance, Solis-Reyes can order that the images of key witnesses be pixilated and sensitive audio footage be muted on broadcast.

The SC said it would create a special committee to implement the regulations of the broadcast guidelines.

Defense lawyer Paris Real, who represents suspect Datukan Malang Salibo, expressed confidence that live coverage of the trial will not affect the outcome of the case.

“The judge will not be swayed despite the public’s perception,” he said.

Catholic bishops Deogracias Iñiguez of Kalookan and Jose Bagaforo of Cotabato said the live broadcast of the remaining hearings would eliminate suspicions of a “lutong macau” or done deal in the court process, thus promoting transparency.

Another suspect arrested

Meanwhile, police have arrested a member of the civilian volunteer organization implicated in the massacre.           

Chief Superintendent Benito Estipona, director of the Special Task Force Maguindanao, said Nasser Talib was arrested at the town proper of Shariff Aguak in Maguindanao.

Chief Superintendent Samuel Pagdilao Jr., director of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG), said suspects at large carry a P250,000 reward each for information leading to their arrest.

Pagdilao assured the families of all the victims that the CIDG, together with its field operatives in Maguindanao, will continuously exert relentless effort until all the 195 suspects are arrested. - With Edu Punay, Aurea Calica, Evelyn Macairan, Aie Balagtas See, Cecille Suerte Felipe