The head of a southern Philippine political clan sparked courtroom gasps yesterday when he denied 57 charges of murder in a November 2009 massacre that shocked a nation accustomed to political violence.
The case has been cast as a test of a much-criticized justice system and the resolve of Philippine President Benigno Aquino to deliver on promises to implement the rule of law by ending a culture of impunity for the politically well-connected.
Andal Ampatuan Sr’s plea and arraignment came 18 months after the killings and four months after his petition to have the charges thrown out was dismissed, underscoring the slow progress of a case expected to last longer than Aquino’s six-year term.
The victims, including more than 30 journalists, were traveling to witness the filing of papers for a candidate to stand against his son, Andal Ampatuan Jr, in last year’s May elections when they were stopped by armed men on a mountain road in Maguindanao.
They were taken down a dirt road and shot and buried in mass graves. Some victims were buried in their vehicles.
After the 57 charges of murder were read out in a local dialect by an interpreter, with each victim named, Ampatuan Sr pleaded not guilty.
His plea sparked gasps and shouts from families of the victims in the court, specially set up inside a Manila prison, prompting a rebuke from the judge.
Ampatuan Sr’s trial is set to begin on June 15.
He will be tried with his son, who is accused of masterminding the killings.
Prosecutors have charged nearly 200 people, including three of Ampatuan Jr’s brothers and an uncle, over the massacre, the worst single incident of political violence in the Philippines.
Most of the accused remain at large, and 57 have been arraigned.
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