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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider QC court to release Maguindanao massacre verdict on Dec. 19

QC court to release Maguindanao massacre verdict on Dec. 19

Published Dec 2, 2019 12:00 am
By Chito Chavez  After a decade of marathon hearings, a Quezon City court will finally hand down its verdict on the Maguindanao massacre case on December 19. The gruesome killings of 58 people, including 32 journalists, became known worldwide as the most horrible election-related single mass killings involving journalists. Quezon City Regional Trial Court (QCRTC) Branch 221 Presiding Judge Jocelyn Solis-Reyes issued the order on November 29 declaring that judgment on the multiple murder case will be announced at 9 a.m. at the Quezon City Jail-Annex inside Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig City. The resolution of the Maguindanao massacre case will come a day earlier than the "non-extendible" deadline set by the Supreme Court on December 20, 2019 after Reyes requested for a one-month extension to resolve the case. On November 23, 2009, the Maguindanao massacre left 58 people dead, including 32 media workers, some civilians and some members of the Mangudadatu clan. To recall, majority of the victims were part of the convoy that will file the certificate of candidacy of then Buluan Vice-Mayor Esmael “Toto’’ Magundadatu for the gubernatorial post of Maguindanao province against a member of the Ampatuan family. After the killing, the bodies of the victims were found, in shallow graves in the town of Ampatuan in Maguindanao province. Primary suspect, Datu Andal "Unsay" Ampatuan Jr. was mayor of Datu Unsay town when his heavily armed bodyguards allegedly shot and decapitated the victims' bodies with chainsaws. Of the 197 original suspects facing multiple murder charges only 116 have been arrested with 107 being tried while the case against five others were dismissed.
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