PROSECUTOR Victoriano M. Bello Jr. said not any of the military officials sued by former Maguindanao governor Andal Ampatuan Sr. has filed his or her counter-affidavit because of the holiday season.
"The notifications were signed but alanganin na man gud kay New Year na 'to paggawas but I'll see to it that it will be sent the soonest possible time," Bello told Sun.Star Davao.
Ampatuan Sr. sued Lieutenant General Raymundo Ferrer, commanding officer of the Eastern Mindanao Command; Lieutenant Colonel Joel Paloma; Colonel Leo Cresente Ferrer, and two unidentified men for not releasing him from the military camp.
In an affidavit by Ampatuan, which was corroborated by his lawyer Philip Pantojan, the clan patriarch said the soldiers forced him to be brought to the Davao Doctors Hospital on December 4, 2009 instead of a Cotabato hospital where he was going.
He also said that the officers held him under hospital arrest even though he was not shown any warrant, and forcibly brought him to the military hospital in Panacan where he is presently detained without being charged within 72 hours as the law provides. (RMH)