Governor eyes appeal vs bail for 16 cops linked to Ampatuan massacre

Maguindanao Governor Esmael ''Toto'' Mangudadatu on Tuesday said he will seek the help of President Rodrigo Duterte and the government's top lawyer after the affirmation of bail for 16 policemen tagged in the Maguindanao massacre that killed 58 people. 

"Kakausapin po namin si Solicitor General [Jose] Calida para tulungan po kaming makapag-file ng apela sa Supreme Court," Mangudadatu told ABS-CBN News. 

(We will ask Solicitor General Calida to help us file an appeal before the Supreme Court.) 

"Panawagan din po ito kay Pangulong Rodrigo Duterte. Sana po tulungan kaming mapabilis ang conviction ng mga major suspects na ito," he added. 

(This is also a call for President Rodrigo Duterte. May he help us expedite the conviction of these major suspect.) 

The Court of Appeals on Monday affirmed the order by a Quezon City court which first granted the policemen bail in October 2014. The CA said there was insufficient evidence to officers to the massacre, known as the worst case of election-related violence in the Philippines. 

• CA upholds bail grant for 16 cops tagged in Maguindanao massacre 

The prosecution has found new witnesses to incriminate the officers, who allegedly guarded the checkpoints leading to the area where the crime scene, said Mangudadatu. 

Among the those slain in the 2009 massacre were 32 journalists, Mangudadatu's wife and several female members of his political clan. 

Over 190 persons stand accused for the multiple murder cases, several of whom are key members of rival Ampatuan family, including their late patriarch Andal Ampatuan, Sr. and his sons Andal Jr. and Zaldy Ampatuan. 

Umagang Kay Ganda, 27 February 2018