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Ampatuans own 500 hectares; assets inventory incomplete
They come from one of the poorest provinces of the country but the Ampatuans ranked among Asia’s crazy rich, while they were in power. Court records showed that they owned five…
By Ed Lingao·December 16, 2019
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Presumption of Innocence
The defense panel invokes the high bar of “presumption of innocence” for the accused, under the Constitution. The prosecution says it has presented evidence and eyewitnesses to…
By Center For Media Freedom And Responsibility Cmfr·December 16, 2019
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Ampatuan lawyer acquires Ampatuan assets
He purchased eight of the properties in Davao City of Andal Ampatuan Jr. Young and recently married lawyer in 2012, Arnel Cortez Manaloto is based in Angeles City, Pampanga…
By Ed Lingao·December 15, 2019
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Theory of the Defense
There is, according to defense lawyers, not enough evidence to convict Datu Unsay Ampatuan. for the massacre of 58 persons. His lawyer said neither the bullets nor the guns used in…
By Center For Media Freedom And Responsibility Cmfr·December 15, 2019
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Andal Jr. sells 8 big properties;72 Ampatuans running in 2013
The Court of Appeals had ordered the freezing of all the known assets of Andal Ampatuan Sr., his sons Andal Jr. and Zaldy, and 25 other Ampatuan family members on June 6, 2011. The…
By Ed Lingao·December 14, 2019
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Theory of the Prosecution
The Ampatuans, according to prosecution witnesses, had planned to murder Toto Mangudadatu as early as July 2009, when he declared he was running for governor to contest the…
By Center For Media Freedom And Responsibility Cmfr·December 14, 2019
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Ombudsman: Ampatuans, allies had 597 bank accounts
The Ombudsman’s lifestyle check on the Ampatuans in 2010 showed that Andal Sr. alone “has amassed unexplained wealth manifestly and excessively out of proportion to his legitimate…
By Malou Mangahas·December 13, 2019
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Key Witnesses: Defense
Accused Datu Unsay Ampatuan and three other witnesses testified for the defense panel that they were not present at the site of the massacre on the day the Mangudadatu convoy was…
By Center For Media Freedom And Responsibility Cmfr·December 13, 2019
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Fast, furious wheels : LTO records show Ampatuans have fleet of 121 vehicles
Records of the Land Transportation Office show that the Ampatuans could have as many as 121 various vehicles, including at least 53 top-of-line luxury rides that are the latest of…
By Carolyn O Arguillas·December 12, 2019
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Key Witnesses: Prosecution
The prosecution presented eight key witnesses, including a former vice mayor and a former trusted man of the Ampatuans. Separately, they testified on how they saw the planning and…
By Center For Media Freedom And Responsibility Cmfr·December 12, 2019
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Duterte’s secret SALN: The lie of his FOI
Rodrigo R. Duterte is a most secretive President when it comes to the details of his wealth. To this day, eight months after the April 30 deadline for filing, he has not released a…
By Malou Mangahas·December 11, 2019
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Complainants, Witnesses
By the numbers, the Ampatuan Massacre trial was a massive process that ran through nearly nine years. It involved 134 key witnesses for the prosecution, 58 private complainants…
By Center For Media Freedom And Responsibility Cmfr·December 11, 2019
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Red-tagging, intimidation vs. press:Duterte, state agents behind 69 cases
Fraught still with attacks and threats — that is the sorry state of media freedom in the Philippines under the Duterte Administration. It highlights the unyielding reign of…
By Freedom For Media Freedom For All Network·December 10, 2019
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Days after massacre, Ampatuans sought amnesty for cache of guns
A week after the Ampatuan Massacre of Nov. 23, 2009, the Ampatuans tried to secure amnesty for dozens of their high-powered, high-end firearms. After the massacre, the AFP…
By Ed Lingao·December 10, 2019
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Supreme Court intervenes for speed
Three years after the Ampatuan Massacre trial began, the high court in December 2013 assigned an “assisting judge” to speed up the process.
By Center For Media Freedom And Responsibility Cmfr·December 10, 2019
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Ampatuans managed public funds like clan’s own purse
From 2002 to 2008, COA reports had scored huge expenses for what could have been identical projects in Maguindanao and ARMM, under the Ampatuans. The reports painted a sorry…
By Malou Mangahas·December 9, 2019
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Cumbersome Course of Justice
Numerous motions filed by lawyers of the accused Ampatuans had stretched the pace of the trial interminably. By 2013, they had filed nine motions for the judge to recuse herself…
By Center For Media Freedom And Responsibility Cmfr·December 9, 2019
Latest
The poor get poorer, Ampatuans get richer as IRA billions pour in
The Ampatuans were Arroyo’s anointed lieutenants in ARMM, their alliance built largely on largesse. But the cash bonanza that Maguindanao secured from Arroyo failed dismally to…
By Carolyn O Arguillas Mindanews·December 8, 2019
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Death and Disappearances
Nearly nine years ago, the trial for multiple murder of about 200 accused in the Ampatuan Massacre began. Of the 91 arrested suspects, only 81 had been arraigned by 2013, and as…
By Center For Media Freedom And Responsibility Cmfr·December 8, 2019
Latest
Shamefully rich clan has 35 houses, fleet of wheels
Until they were charged with the murder of 58 persons on Nov. 23, 2009, the Ampatuans lived in mansions, traveled with a retinue of armed escorts in a convoy of black SUVs, flew…
By Carolyn O Arguillas Mindanews·December 7, 2019
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The Trial and Facts of the Case
On Nov. 23, 2009, 58 persons were killed in Ampatuan town, Maguindanao province. The victims included 32 journalists and media workers, two lawyers, six motorists passing the same…
By Center For Media Freedom And Responsibility Cmfr·December 7, 2019