By Aaron Recuenco, Ellson Quismorio, and Dhel Nazario

After 10 years of pain and suffering, the aura of happiness somehow found a place in the heart of those widowed and orphaned by the brutal massacre of 57 persons, mostly journalists, on November 23, 2009 in Sitio Masalay, Barangay Salman, Ampatuan, Maguindanao.

But the happiness is incomplete according to Arlene Ompag since a number of the accused including former acting Maguindanao governor now Shariff Saydona Mustapha Mayor Sajid Ampatuan and 52 other accused – 30 of them policemen– were acquitted.

“It’s a mix of happiness and sadness” said Ompag whose relative, UNTV cameraman Mac Guilbert Arriola, was among those mercilessly executed.

There is sadness because in the course of the trial, the grieving relatives learned from witness accounts how the victims were killed, how the massacre was planned, carried out and the attempt at cover up.

Ompag said it made them angry when those responsible would flatly deny their involvement and confidently claim innocence.

There is sadness at the ruling of the court since aside from the acquittal, 80 of the accused remain at large.

But the decision was sweet because after a decade of legal battle, Ompag said justice was finally served.

“It’s long but it’s worth the wait because almost all of the principal suspects were convicted,” Ompag told the Manila Bulletin in an interview after the promulgation.

“We have been waiting for this, I did not even notice that it’s now 10 years but we are all happy,” she added.

Delayed

Quezon City Regional Trial Court (Branch 221) Judge Jocelyn Solis-Reyes arrived at Camp Bagong Diwa at about 10:33, more than an hour and a half late from the scheduled 9 a.m. promulgation.

She entered the court room at about 11:04 followed by men carrying thick documents inside several envelopes, which appeared to include her decision on the multiple murder case leveled against 197 accused led by the powerful Ampatuan clan of Maguindanao.

Of the accused, 80 remain unaccounted which include soldiers and policemen, while a total of 101 of them stood trial but a few of them were not present on Thursday’s promulgation.

The makeshift courtroom was divided into four spaces, each separated by iron grills.

The first space is where the sala of the judge and where the prosecution and defense lawyers are seated. The next division is ccupied by all the accused tightly guarded by more than 10 jailguards.

Behind the accused is another space reserved the relatives of the accused and the victims while the fourth space was turned into a media center for journalists given access to cover the promulgation.

The iron grill that separates the media center was covered but they could see and hear what was happening inside through a television live feed.

The promulgation started at around 11:04 a.m. with the roll call of all the arrested accused.

Cheers and jeers

Both the prosecution and the defense lawyers agreed to forego the reading of the entire decision and go directly to the dispositive part of the decision.

Cheers were heard among the relatives of the victims as the principal accused led by former Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) Gov. Zaldy Ampatuan and his brother Andal “Unsay” Ampatuan were convicted and sentenced to reclusion perpetua without parole.

But the happiness was suddenly replaced with disappointment when some of the accused were only meted with six to 10 years of imprisonment.

The relatives of the victims were heard complaining after Sajid Ampatuan and a number of policemen were acquitted.

A few meters away, meanwhile, were weeping relatives of some of the accused after hearing of the conviction.

Forgiven

Noemi, wife of local newspaper publisher Joel Parcon said she had already forgiven the policemen involved.

“I began to understand their situation that time because they were just following orders, their choice then is either they follow the order or be killed,” Parcon told the Manila Bulletin in a separate interview.

Parcon said the cops already paid the price of being accessory to the crime by almost 10 years of detention.

“We also filed an administrative case against them and they were already dismissed. I think they already suffered enough and I have already forgiven them,” she added.

Meaningful wait

Despite not getting the 100 percent conviction that he hoped for, Maguindanao 2nd District Rep. Esmael “Toto” Mangudadatu said his decade-long wait for justice was still meaningful.

“Ang sampung taong paghihintay ay naging makabuluhan dahil tayo ang kinatigan ng hustisya (The 10-year wait became meaningful because justice favored us),” Mangudadatu said in a statement a few hours after the verdict was handed down.

Bai Genalyn, Mangudadatu’s wife, was among the victims of the carnage along with more than 20 other family members and relatives.

“Bagama’t hindi lahat ng akusado ay nahatulan ng pagkakakulong, kami ay nagagalak pa rin dahil ang mga dapat masakdal ay nakatakda ng makulong pang habang-buhay (Although not everyone from the accused were sentenced to prison, we are still happy because those who should be convicted are about to be jailed for life),” Mangudadatu said.

“Hindi po sapat ang mga salita upang maihayag ko ang aming taos-puso at lubos na pasasalamat sa Diyos at sa inyong panalangin para sa amin (Words aren’t enough to express our full and heartfelt thanks to God, and to you for your prayers),” he further said.

The doomed journalists were covering the filing of the certificate of candidacy of then-Buluan town Vice Mayor Esmael Mangudadatu for the gubernatorial post, a task that was carried out by his wife when their seven-vehicle convoy were intercepted by Andal Jr along the national highway.

READ MORE: Decade-long wait was meaningful–Mangudadatu

‘I leave it to Allah’

Mangudadatu’s mother-in law, Nenita Tiamzon said forgiveness is not hers to give.

“Ang pagpapatawad kay Allah, wala sa akin (Forgiveness is with Allah, not me,)” she said.

A teary-eyed Tiamzon said that there is no day that she does not remember her daughter (Genalyn). She was partly appeased by the decision, she said, for she can never see her daughter again.

“Di ko talaga makalimutan, di maalis sa isip ko. Pagpikit ng mata ko nakikita ko. Araw-araw, gabi-gabi, kung ano ano na lang ginagawa ko para makatulog (I cannot really forget [her], I cannot take [her] off my mind. Whenever I close my eyes I see her. Every night and day, I do various things just so I can sleep),” she said.

With the ruling of conviction, Tiamzon said she felt a huge load has been taken off her chest. She said she never doubted that the primary accused would be convicted.

Tiamzon recalled that at that very day, she was having a phone conversation with her daughter who was scheduled to open a resort when she suddenly heard gunshots. Upon arrival at the area of the incident, she already assumed and refused to hear the news of what happened.

She said that she diverted her attention to other things in order to be strong and take care of her granchildren. During that time, she had just recovered from stroke.

After the decision, Tiamzon said she will just continue on with her life despite the outcome.

Unlike Toto Mangudadatu who wishes the death penalty upon the Ampatuans, Tiamzon said she is content with the punishment that will be imposed on those convicted.

“Okay na yun. At least natapos na, wala nang mabibiktima muli (It’s okay with me, at least it is already done and they will no longer victimize anyone once more)”, she said.

Tiamzon was one of those who applauded while shedding tears upon hearing the court’s decision at Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig City together with other victims’ relatives.

READ MORE: Forgiveness is up to Allah – massacre victim’s mother