Massacre suspects Ampatuan bros. plead not guilty to graft raps before Sandigan

Maguindanao massacre suspects and brothers Datu Sajid Ampatuan and Datu Andal Ampatuan Jr. on Tuesday pleaded not guilty to charges of graft and falsification over the alleged anomalous construction and road projects in 2009.

Initially, the camp of Sajid, the former governor of Maguindanao, appealed with the Sandiganbyan to defer his arraignment due to his pending motion for reinvestigation of the case.

Fifth Division chair Associate Justice Rafael Lagos, however, denied the motion of Sajid's counsel during the proceedings.

"Do you know how much the government is spending for [your brother Andal Jr's] escorts?" he added, saying the government incurs expenses for providing security to Andal Jr. whenever he is brought to and from Taguig City, where he is detained over a separate case.

Sajid is facing eight counts each of graft and falsification of public documents, while Andal Jr. is facing eight counts of graft.

The Ombudsman had alleged that Sajid committed graft for giving “unwarranted benefit, advantage or preference” to Shariff Aguak Petron Station when the company received a contract for the supply of fuel and lubricants worth P22.37 million for the road and construction projects in Maguindanao without public bidding.

The Ombudsman said Andal Jr., the former mayor of Datu Unsay, Maguindanao, owned Shariff Aguak Petron Station during the time of the crime.

Meanwhile, Sajid and project engineer Landa Guinaid, along with six other engineers named in the case, were also charged with falsification of public documents over the said projects which, the Ombudsman said, were actually unimplemented.

The respondents were also accused of making untruthful statements in the Statement of Work Accomplished and “by certifying and approving that the amount of work accomplished in accordance with approved plans and specifications” for the P22.37-million projects.

Former provincial accountant John Estelito Dollosa Jr., former provincial treasurer Osmena Bandilla, and engineers Guinaid and Pendi Abpet remain at-large.

Sajid earlier pleaded not guilty to charges stemming from the alleged anomalous purchase of food supplies worth P16.32 million in 2009.

He is facing separate criminal complaints for the alleged irregular procurement of materials for a school building repair worth P38 million from 2008 to 2009.

The Ampatuan brothers came to national attention after they were named suspects in the deadly Maguindanao massacre on November 23, 2009, which left 58 people, including 32 journalists, dead.

Andal Jr. has been detained at the Quezon City Jail Annex inside Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig City since 2010.

Meanwhile, Sajid only spent five years in jail after he was released on an P11.6-million surety bond when a Quezon City court found that evidence against him was weak. — MDM, GMA News