PHILIPPINES: Trial of three men yet to begin after three years 

Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information regarding the long delay in the trial of three men named Jejhon Macalinsal, Aron Salah and Abubakar Amilhasan. They were arrested by the police of General Santos City on 24 April 2002, who accused them of being involved in the 21 April 2002 Fitmart Mall bombing in General Santos City. They are all Muslims and affiliate members of party list Bayan Muna in Socsksargen.

The three men were reported to have been illegally detained at the Pendatun Police Station (PP1) for three months without any arrest warrant. The police also allegedly forced the men to admit their involvement in the Fitmart Mall bombing, which they continuously refused to do. Strangely, the three men were not charged for murder in relation to the bombing. Instead, the police charged them for illegal possession of firearms before the Municipal Trial Court (MTC) Branch 3 and illegal possession of explosives in the Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 35.

Later, the three men were released on bail but their trial did not start following their arraignment on 26 February 2003. The pre-trial, however, was cancelled on several occasions due to frequent leaves or seminars of the presiding judge, the appointment of a new judge, seminar of lawyers and simply the absence of a court stenographer. Recently, the pre-trial was again postponed until 2 June 2005.

This violates the right to speedy trial of the three men and also illustrates the failure of the judicial system in Philippines. The Action Program for Judicial Reform (APJR) adopted by the Philippine Supreme Court in December 2000 ensures a speedy disposition of cases. It is therefore the duty of all judges to ensure the prompt access to an judicial system as part of the reforms.

We urge your urgent intervention in this case. Please urge the court to expedite the trial in accordance with Republic Act 8493, which ensures the speedy trial of criminal cases.

Urgent Appeals Desk
Asian Human Rights Commission
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DETAILED INFORMATION:

Names of the victims: 1) Jejhon Macalinsal, 2) Aron Salah, 3) Abubakar Amilhasan; all are Muslims and affiliate members of party list Bayan Muna in Socsksargen (Provinces of South Cotabato, Sarangani, Sultan Kudarat and General Santos City)
Place and date of arrest: at 3:00am on 24 April 2002, Barangay Calumpang, General Santos City, Mindanao, Philippines
Arresting officers: General Santos City Police Office
Courts handling the case: Municipal Trial Court (MTC), Branch 3, Regional Trial Court Branch (RTC), Branch 35, all in General Santos City, Mindanao
Status of the case: The case has not started for over three years due to several cancellations and postponements in the schedule

At around 3:00am on 24 April 2002, Jejhon Macalinsal, Aron Salah and Abubakar Amilhasan were arrested by General Santos City police at a house where they were staying in Barangay Calumpang, General Santos City. All three men are Muslims. The police had come with a search warrant issued by the court against suspects of the 21 April 2002 Fitmart Mall bombing in General Santos City. The police later publicly pronounced that the three persons were arrested due to their alleged involvement in the Fitmart Mall bombing. Firearms and explosives were reportedly recovered at the house. However, the three men denied these charges and claimed that that evidence was planted during the police raid.

After their arrest, the three men were detained at the Pendatun Police Station (PP1) for three months in absence of any arrest warrant. While detained at the police station, one of the suspects, Jejhon Macalinsal who is a pro-gay rights activist, reported that he experienced verbal sexual humiliation from a police custodian. He also said that the police forced him to admit his responsibility to the Fitmart Mall bombing and to point out Aron Salah and Abubakar Amilhasan as masterminds, which he repeatedly refused to do. It is also alleged that the three men were maltreated and tortured by the police during their arrest and detention.

Despite their claim of the victims’ involvement in the Fitmart Mall bombing, the police did not file murder charges against them but charged them for illegal possession of firearms before the Municipal Trial Court (MTC), Branch 3 and illegal possession of explosives in Regional Trial Court (RTC), Branch 35. They were later released on bail.

The three men were finally arraigned on 26 February 2003, ten months after their arrest; on three previous occasions, it had been cancelled due to public holidays and the judge being on leave on 4 October 2002, 4 December 2002 and 3 February 2003.

Following their arraignment, the pre-trial was also cancelled and postponed on seven occasions on 1 July 2003, 12 August 2003, 28 October 2003, 10 December 2003, 15 March 2004, 5-7 May 2004 and 5 August 2004. This was reportedly because the judge was either on leave, attending a seminar, and the case was endorsed to another judge.

Following the appointment of new presiding judge on 5 August 2004, the court observed that there had been no pre-trial order issued by the former presiding judge. Hence, upon a motion of the government prosecutor and with the conformity of the defense counsel, the proceedings were reverted to pre-trial and the parties were directed to appear before the Clerk of Court for a preliminary pre-trial conference. This conference was finally conducted on 31 August 2004.

After the preliminary conference, the pre-trial was scheduled for 30 September 2004, 27 October 2004, 19 November 2004, 24 March 2005 and 11 and 18 April 2005. However, all these dates were continuously cancelled because the presiding judge was either on leave, the counsels were not present, the days were holidays, the lawyers were on seminars, or simply the court stenographer was absent. The pre-trial has now been postponed for 2 June 2005.

The Action Program for Judicial Reform (APJR) adopted by the Philippine Supreme Court in December 2000 ensures a speedy disposition of cases. The Republic Act 8493 also ensures speedy trial of criminal cases.  It is therefore the duty of all judges to ensure prompt access to judicial remedies as part of the reforms. The AHRC strongly urges the Government of Philippines to take appropriate action to expedite the trial to prevent any further delay.

SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please send a letter, fax or email to the relevant government authorities asking them to speed up the conduct of trial of the three above men in accordance to the Republic Act 8493.

To support this case, please click here: SEND APPEAL LETTER