Palace renews commitment to serve justice to families of Maguindanao massacre victims

Photo by Carlos H. Conde / Twitter

MANILA — Malacanang made an assurance on Saturday that it will continue to do everything in its power to serve justice to the families of the victims of the Maguidanao massacre despite the mounting challenges.

In a radio interview over dzRB Radyo Ng Bayan, Deputy Presidential Spokesperson Abigail Valte expressed her support to the families of the victims noting that the Palace also wants a speedy trial for them to attain justice.

“At nasa inyo po ang commitment ng pamahalaan na ginagawa ang lahat para hindi magkaroon ng delay sa kaso at hindi kami maging source ng delay,” she said during the radio interview.

“At katulad sa mga naging pagharap ng Pangulong Aquino sa inyo, noong bago pa siya maging Pangulo, at nang naulit ito doon sa nangyaring pag-uusap sa Malacañang, ay bukas ang Pangulo sa kahit ano pang tulong na pwedeng maibigay, lalo na doon sa inyong seguridad.”

The Palace official also recognized the extraordinary stumbling blocks ahead noting the complexity of the case.

For instance, she said that even after several years of trial, there are new witnesses who have not been included in the government witness protection program.

“But we assure you that the government is doing its best to push the interest of the state in this case,” she said.

Asked to comment on criticisms that the Aquino government is not acting fast enough to fast track the trial, Valte said the Palace wishes the case to close soon.

“The executive is only part of the prosecution. Hindi po tayo ang dumidinig ng kaso, hindi po tayo ang gumagawa ng mga desisyon, at tumatanggap sa hukuman ng mga desisyong ito,” she said.

“Again, the executive branch is not the only branch in play here in the case, and we can assure you that our efforts have been concentrated on pushing the case forward.”

The country marks the fifth anniversary of the “Maguindanao Massacre” Sunday, which is considered as one of the worst election-related violence in the country.

Fifty eight people, mostly members of the media, were killed on Nov. 23, 2009 in Ampatuan town in Maguindanao. The victims were kidnapped before being brutally killed.