THE Court of Appeals (CA) has denied with finality the petition of former Maguindanao Governor Datu Andal Ampatuan Sr. seeking the nullification of the resolutions issued by the Department of Justice (DOJ), which ordered his indictment for 57 counts of murder in connection with the November 23, 2009 Ampatuan Massacre in Maguindanao province.
In an eight-page resolution written by Associate Justice Noel Tijam, the CA’s Former Special Eleventh Division affirmed its decision issued on January 31, 2011, junking Ampatuan Sr.’s claim that he never had a hand in the massacre.
The CA added that the arguments raised by Ampatuan Sr. in his motion for reconsideration were mere rehash of the issues and arguments he raised in his main petition as well as his supplemental petition.
“We found no grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction when the DOJ found that there exist some facts and circumstances that engender a well-founded belief that a crime has been committed, and that petitioner is probably guilty of that crime and should be held for trial,” the appellate court said.
Concurring with the ruling were Associate Justices Antonio Villamor and Amy Lazaro-Javier.
The CA stressed that it junked Ampatuan Sr.’s petition because the prosecution was able to establish existence of probable cause that warrants his inclusion as of the accused in the Ampatuan Massacre case.
Contrary to Ampatuan Sr.’s claim, the CA said there was no grave abuse of discretion on the part of the DOJ in issuing its April 16, 2010 and May 5, 2010 resolutions.
“We so rule, not because of the victims’ families’ clamor as the bloodiest single incidents in the history of the Philippines, has drawn worldwide media attention; and, certainly not because of the magnitude of the controversy that has hounded this case since day one,” the CA noted.
“We only hold that he should be held for trial due to the DOJ’s finding of probable cause,” it added.
In its January 31 ruling, the CA dismissed the argument of Andal Sr. that the DOJ erred when it gave credence to the testimony of prosecution witness Kenny Dalandag despite evidence that his statements were fabricated.
Andal Sr., in his supplemental petition, also assailed the DOJ for resolving his motion for reconsideration based on the testimony of additional witness Raul Sangki, vice mayor of the town of Ampatuan, Maguindanao, without conducting another preliminary investigation.
However, the CA held that the determination of probable cause for filing of an information in court is an executive function, or particularly to the public prosecutor, and, ultimately to the justice secretary.
The CA agreed with the DOJ that there is nothing in the rules which requires the conduct of a new preliminary investigation on the ground that additional evidence has been presented at the motion for reconsideration stage of the proceedings before the DOJ.
In fact, the CA said, under Section 4, Rule 112 of the Rules of Court, the secretary of justice is even empowered to reverse or modify the resolution of the provincial or city prosecutor or chief state prosecutor, and accordingly, direct the filing of an information even without conducting another preliminary investigation.
The DOJ had earlier ordered the indictment of more than 190 individuals, including the members of the powerful Ampatuan clan in Maguindanao in connection with the November 23, 2009 Maguindanao massacre.
