Malacañang stressed Saturday that it will continue to seek justice for the victims of the Maguindanao massacre, saying that the Ampatuans should handle the case on their own.

“Pursigido at determinado si Pangulong Arroyo at ang ating pamahalaan na mabigyan ng hustisya ang lahat lalo na ang mga nagiging biktima sa Maguindanao,” Press Secretary Cerge Remonde said over government-run DZRB.

“How the suspects will handle themselves, that is their own right,” he added. “We hope they will abide by our laws and our justice system.”

The Ampatuans’ lawyer, Atty. Sigrid Fortun, had said Friday that it will not give any counter-affidavit as his clients are being pre-judged, adding that they had not expected the preliminary investigation to be fair.

This, he said, stemmed from an earlier statement reportedly made by Justice Secretary Agnes Devanadera that ‘the case filed against the Ampatuans is strong and that they will be incarcerated for a long time.’

Asked for any advice for the Ampatuans, Remonde said that the case should be dealt by the justice system. “Hayaan nalang natin ang ating justice system to deal with them, we’re not in a position to give advice to the Ampatuans or anybody for that matter on how they will handle the case,” he said.

Datu Unsay Mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr. was filed with murder charges at the Quezon City regional trial court (QCRTC) for allegedly orchestrating the November 23 Maguindanao massacre.

The case is being handled by Judge Jocelyn Solis-Reyes of QCRTC Branch 221 in a re-raffle after QCRTC Branch 84 Luisito Cortez inhibited from handling the case for security reasons.

Several of the Ampatuans have also been charged with rebellion, which led the government to declare Martial Law in Maguindanao earlier this month and which was lifted a week later.