Maguindanao massacre verdict: Ampatuan still in hospital

Former Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao Governor and primary suspect Zaldy Ampatuan is still in the hospital a day before the release of Maguindanao massacre verdict, Wednesday.

QC RTC Branch 221 has already scheduled the promulgation of the case tomorrow, December 19 at Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig City.

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Ampatuan’s photo was shared in the media while he is in hospital bed.

According to Makati City police chief Col. Rogelio Simon, Ampatuan remains in his room at Makati Medical Center.

Authorities are still waiting for the doctor’s discharge papers before he could go out of the hospital and be returned to jail, following the orders of Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 221 Judge Jocelyn Solis Reyes.

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In a December 16 order, Judge Jocelyn Solis-Reyes said “there is no longer any need” for Ampatuan, a primary defendant, to remain in the hospital because his rehabilitation procedures “can be done to him as an out-patient.”

Prosecutors filed the motion out of a fear that Ampatuan’s hospitalization might give him the chance to escape.

Ampatuan has been in the hospital since October 22 due to Cardio Vascular Disease [Infarction] Secondary to [Cardiac] Dysrhythmia.

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SC approves Maguindanao massacre verdict live media coverage

The Supreme Court approves the request of various media organizations to allow live coverage of Maguindanao massacre case promulgation tomorrow.

In the Supreme Court’s announcement, it will only allow a limited number of cameras inside wherein one should be focused on the judge while the other is on the actual party and its counsel. Zoom-in shots will be prohibited.

Only accredited media representatives will be allowed to cover because of the court’s limited space.

Cell phones, audio or video recordings, and more will also be prohibited in the courtroom at Camp Bagong Diwa, Taguig.

Even conducting interviews is not allowed.

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has called the Maguindanao massacre the single deadliest event for journalists in history. At least 34 journalists are known to have died in the killing.