{"id":236944,"date":"2019-11-09T00:06:39","date_gmt":"2019-11-09T05:06:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=236944"},"modified":"2019-11-09T00:06:39","modified_gmt":"2019-11-09T05:06:39","slug":"ptfoms-expects-favorable-ruling-to-maguindanao-massacre-victims","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2019\/11\/09\/ptfoms-expects-favorable-ruling-to-maguindanao-massacre-victims\/","title":{"rendered":"PTFoMS expects favorable ruling to Maguindanao massacre victims"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
FILE: Maguindanao massacre site in Barangay Salman, Ampatuan, Maguindanao (PCOO file photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

MANILA<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 The Presidential Task Force on Media Security (PTFoMS) expressed optimism on Friday that the court will rule in favor of the families of victims of the 2009 Maguindanao massacre.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe expect that justice will ultimately prevail for the victims and their families,\u201d Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Martin Andanar, co-chairperson of the PTFoMS, said in a statement.<\/p>\n

Andanar\u2019s statement came after the Supreme Court has granted the 30-day extension of the deadline requested by the Quezon City Regional Trial Court (RTC) to rule on the multiple murder case against nearly 200 individuals tagged in the massacre of 58 people in Maguindanao province in 2009.<\/p>\n

The High Court extended the deadline for the ruling on the cases against the accused after Quezon City RTC Branch 221 Presiding Judge Jocelyn Solis-Reyes had sought more time to look into the \u201cvoluminous records\u201d of the cases.<\/p>\n

The \u201cvoluminous\u201d records include 165 volumes of records of proceedings, 65 volumes of transcripts of stenographic notes, and eight volumes of the prosecution’s documentary evidence.<\/p>\n

The verdict was supposed to be released on or before November 20, but the Supreme Court extended it until December 20.<\/p>\n

PTFoMS co-chairperson, Undersecretary Joel Egco was hopeful that the families of the victims would finally get justice, a decade after the mass murder in Maguindanao.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is worth the wait. What is one month compared to 10 years? Lower courts usually go on Christmas break in mid-December. So the decision may be out by December 14,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWithout pre-empting the outcome, I am optimistic that the families of the victims will finally get the justice that they have been waiting for the last decade,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

A total of 58 people, including 32 journalists and media workers, were on their way to the Commission on Elections\u2019 local office to witness the filing of candidacy of then Buluan vice mayor Esmael Mangudadatu for 2010 gubernatorial race when they were flagged and killed by gunmen in Ampatuan town in Maguindanao on November 23, 2009.<\/p>\n

Multiple murder cases were filed against Datu Andal Ampatuan, the principal accused in the case, and 196 co-accused.<\/p>\n

Egco attributed the impending conclusion of the Maguindanao massacre case to the Duterte administration\u2019s \u201cpolitical will\u201d.<\/p>\n

Andanar lauded those who worked hard in bringing closure to the \u201cworst case of election-related violence.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe cannot help but be amazed at the dedication of the men and women of the law enforcement units, prosecutors, and most especially, the Presidential Task Force on Media Security, whose passion for their work is exceeded only by their desire to see this case through its conclusion,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is another addition to President Duterte\u2019s legacy, that one of the most despicable acts against journalists in the history of the world will finally come to a close during his term,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra, who also chairs the PTFoMS, earlier expressed confidence that the prosecution would secure “a just decision at least as against the principal accused\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

MANILA\u00a0\u2013 The Presidential Task Force on Media Security (PTFoMS) expressed optimism on Friday that the court will rule in favor …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":220618,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1145,16,95],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-236944","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headline","category-news","category-news-ph","mauthors-ruth-abbey-gita-carlos","mauthors-philippine-news-agency"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/236944","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/44"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=236944"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/236944\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":236946,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/236944\/revisions\/236946"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/220618"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=236944"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=236944"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=236944"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}