'P150-million offered to drop Zaldy'

By Reinir Padua (The Philippine Star) Updated December 16, 2010

MANILA, Philippines - Maguindanao Gov. Esmael Mangudadatu bared yesterday that an emissary of the Ampatuan clan allegedly offered him bribe money ranging from P150 million to P300 million to drop the charges against former governor Zaldy Ampatuan of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao in connection with the Maguindanao massacre last year.

Mangudadatu made the revelation and even allowed media men to hear his recorded telephone conversations with the alleged emissary of the Ampatuans.

His lawyer, Nena Santos, told reporters that Mangudadatu would be testifying after the bail hearings in court regarding the supposed bribe offer.

Santos said the governor would execute an affidavit as a party to the supposed conversations. 

She said the recordings could be admitted as evidence and could not be deemed as wiretapped conversation since Mangudadatu was the one who recorded his own conversation.

Mangudadatu said the bribe offer showed that the Ampatuans “have enormous wealth and (that) they are still powerful.”

Mangudadatu’s wife and 56 others, including journalists, were killed on Nov. 23, 2009 in Ampatuan town in Maguindanao.

The massacre resulted in the killing of 57 people, including Mangudadatu’s wife and two of his sisters, two female lawyers, and 30 media men who covered the supposed filing of certificate of candidacy of Mangudadatu, then vice mayor of Buluan town, who would run for governor of Maguindanao and challenge a scion of the Ampatuan clan.

Mangudadatu was elected governor of Maguindanao in the last May 10 elections. The Mangudadatus have blamed the members of the Ampatuan clan for the killings, specifically pointing to former mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr. of Datu Unsay town as the leader of more than 100 armed men who abducted Mangudadatu’s supporters.

The Ampatuans denied any involvement in the massacre.

Judge Jocelyn Solis-Reyes, of Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 221, is handling the multiple murder charges filed against 197 suspects, including members of the Ampatuan clan, now detained at Camp Bagong Diwa in Bicutan, Taguig City.

Quezon City Judge Vivencio Baclig is handling the trial on the separate rebellion charges filed against the Ampatuans.

“They (Ampatuans) thought they could buy the life of my wife,” Mangudadatu said.

Santos said the bribe offer to her client showed the accused were “desperate.”

Mangudadatu said the offer was made during several telephone conversations with an emissary of the Ampatuans.

The first telephone call was made in November and it started with the emissary asking about the condition of Mangudadatu’s ailing mother. 

The emissary supposedly told him that Zaldy Ampatuan’s wife wanted to visit Mangudadatu’s mother at the hospital.

Subsequent conversations followed throughout November and the emissary supposedly told the governor about the bribe.

Mangudadatu said the offer was in exchange for his dropping the charges against Zaldy Ampatuan, who has been claiming that he could not be charged for participating in the planning of the massacre because he was supposedly in Malacañang when the meeting to plan the killings was purportedly held in the Ampatuan mansion.

In the recorded conversations, Mangudadatu was initially told of an amount worth P150 million.

As if to ensure that every statement would be caught on record, Mangudadatu repeatedly asked the emissary to speak clearly about the amount.

The one on the other end of the line even said it would be just 50 percent of the offer.

When Mangudadatu asked if the amount could go higher, the emissary said, “Meron pa, malaki pa ang pera (There still is, it’s a big sum of money).”

Eventually, the telephone calls stopped and Mangudadatu believes the emissary might have realized that Mangudadatu was setting him up.

Mangudadatu also claimed yesterday that he had received information about the supposed bribe attempt on jail officials to allow the suspects to escape from detention at Camp Bagong Diwa. 

Interior and Local Government Secretary Jessie Robredo and Bureau of Jail Management and Penology Director Rosendo Dial have both confirmed earlier reports about the reported bribe attempts.

Mangudadatu said he had talked with jail officials, one of whom was a ranking officer, who he said claimed to have received feelers about the bribe attempt. He said this happened about a month or two months ago.

“I called up the DILG Secretary and told him that if possible, they should tighten security in Bicutan because there were steps from the Ampatuans (to escape),” Mangudadatu said.

He would not give details on the amount of the supposed bribe attempt, but he said he believed the bribe attempt was made. 

Mangudadatu also expressed confidence yesterday that the Maguindanao massacre case would not suffer the same fate as the killing of the wife and two daughters of Lauro Vizconde that remains unsolved after 19 years.  

Speaking to reporters yesterday on the sidelines of the continuation of the hearings of the massacre case at the Quezon City RTC, Mangudadatu said the two cases are different, particularly the witnesses for the prosecution.

He said that compared to the Vizconde massacre, what the prosecution has in the Maguindanao massacre case were eyewitnesses who actually saw the killings.

Mangudadatu said the decision of the Supreme Court questioned the credibility of Vizconde massacre star witness Jessica Alfaro. 

He said it would be difficult to describe what really happened during the Vizconde massacre when the witness supposedly did not really see what transpired, adding that the witness could have told “lies.” 

In the Maguindanao massacre case, the prosecution has so far presented as witnesses three persons who claimed they actually saw the killings, namely farmer Norodin Mauyag, Ampatuan town Vice Mayor Rasul Sangki and Police Officer 1 Rainier Ebus. 

On Tuesday, majority of the SC justices acquitted Hubert Webb and five others of rape and homicide that occurred in the Vizconde house at BF Homes in Parañaque City in 1991. 

But Mangudadatu said he believes the resolution of the Maguindanao massacre case would be in favor of the complainants. 

“I don’t think I will suffer the same fate. We have strong evidence (against the accused),” he said. 

Foiled bombing in Maguindanao

Mangudadatu said he is still uncertain whether he was the target of a foiled bombing in Maguindanao last week.

He said he has already avoided traveling to some places in Maguindanao, especially in Talayan town where his groups usually conduct medical mission.

Residents found a bomb along the highway near Talayan. Authorities defused the bomb, which was reportedly assembled using two mortar rounds.

Mangudadatu said he ordered Maguindanao provincial police director Senior Superintendent Marcelo Pintac to look into the incident. “Hopefully, we can get investigation results next week,” he said.