November 26, 2009, 6:04pm
There will be no special treatment given to the Ampatuan political clan amid its alleged involvement in the massacre in Maguindanao even though President Arroyo is inclined to keep her friendship with them, a senior Palace official said Thursday.Deputy Presidential Spokeswoman Lorelei Fajardo said they are “glad” that Mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr. of Datu Unsay town has been placed in custody in connection with the massacre, and assured the prosecution of those involved regardless of power and influence.
“It is not true that there are untouchables. There will be equal treatment to those implicated in the case. The government will enforce the law equally to all,” Fajardo said in a news conference in the Palace.
While the government is determined to bring to justice the culprits in the murder of 57 people in an election-related feud, Fajardo admitted that the President would not necessarily severe ties with the Ampatuans.
The President’s deputy said it was hard to make a “quick judgment” on the culpability of the Ampatuan family pending police investigation.
“What is important for President Arroyo is to give justice and to punish whoever is liable for the massacre. If we will see later on that the Ampatuans are found guilty based on the investigation, then whether ally or not they will not be given special treatment and they should be punished,” she said.
“But it doesn’t mean that we are no longer friends with them if they are guilty. I think that should be treated separately,” Fajardo said. “The function of the President as head of state (is) that the law should apply to everyone whether they are friends, allies or relatives.”
Press Secretary Cerge Remonde also said the filing of charges against the young Ampatuan was just the beginning. He said President Arroyo, who has declared a state of emergency in Maguindanao and neighboring areas, wants all the culprits punished “without fear or favor.”
“The government will be relentless in bringing to justice all responsible for the gruesome Maguindanao massacre,” he said.
The ruling Lakas-Kampi-CMD party earlier expelled Maguindanao Governor Andal Ampatuan, Sr. and his two sons, Ampatuan Jr., and Zaldy, governor of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, following their implication in the crime.
Philippine National Police operations chief Andres Caro II meantime said they have disarmed 347 special civilian army auxiliary units in Maguindanao and placed them under custody for the impartial police investigation.
Caro, in the same news conference in the Palace, said the police had to take full control of the province to prevent the escalation of violence.
He said members of the Ampatuan police station are also under investigation for complicity in the crime, as he admitted that some local security forces may be under the influence of warlords or political leaders in the area.
The two other Ampatuan local executives are not yet off the hook since the police are still gathering evidence, he added.
Caro said they intend to reorganize the police units in Maguindanao and review the recruitment of armed civilians following the latest killings.
Fajardo also disputed speculations that the government was applying kid gloves to the embattled Ampatuan family when Presidential adviser on Mindanao affairs Jesus Dureza supposedly negotiated their surrender in their residence.
She said at the time of Dureza’s visit where he sought the cooperation of the Ampatuans, the concerned political clan was not yet officially tagged suspects.
Fajardo likewise denied that Dureza’s visit to the Ampatuan family residence had the imprimatur of the President. Dureza, head of the crisis management committee, made the decision on his own, she added.
On proposals to arm journalists following the massacre, the police official said such move might only aggravate the problem.
The developments in the case came as President Arroyo led the nation in praying for the end of political violence in troubled Mindanao Thursday, which she declared a national day of mourning.
She lamented that political violence has been a “sad legacy of our nation” amid the “considerable progress” in government’s efforts to halt such violence in the last two years.
“Now, let us pray today that the events of this week will not deter this nation from breaking the bonds of violence that plagues our political system. Let us pray today that peace would prevail in the Philippines.
“Let us pray that commitment of human rights and human dignity will prevail. We are a civilized nation,” Mrs. Arroyo said in keynoting the 34th National Prayer Breakfast (NPB) at Malacañang Park.
The Chief Executive assured that her government’s relentless pursuit against the perpetrators of the shameful crime.
“Yes, there is no condemnation in the Lord, but on the other hand, on earth, there is a system of justice and the perpetrators will not find a way to escape justice,” she said.
During the NPB meeting attended by less than a hundred members and leaders of the Philippine National Prayer Breakfast Foundation Inc., the President announced the declaration of a National Day of Prayer and Mourning as an expression of sympathy with the victims.
Source: http://mb.com.ph/articles/231327/gma-keep-friendship-with-ampatuan-family
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