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Alibi is the Weakest Defense After All

Alibi is the Weakest Defense After All

In my last post titled Business As Usual I linked to an article in the Inquirer where former justice secretary Franklin Drilon was quoted as saying �Alibi is the weakest defense�, referring to Justice Secretary Alberto Agras April 16 decision to clear two members of the Ampatuan clan in the Maguindanao massacre. Today, after assessing new evidence, it looks like Agra agrees.

The new evidence includes the testimony of a new witness claiming both participated in a meeting the night before the massacre. According to the witness, in this meeting a decision was taken to stop the Mangudadatus from filing a certificate of candidacy.

The new witness corroborates the testimony of Kenny Dalandag, who was the first witness to testify Zaldy and his cousin, Akmad, attended said meeting. Both are now in protective custody of the NBI.

Some will be asking whether Agras decision today had more to do with the collective backlash he endured after his April 16 decision, rather than the new evidence coming to light. Whatever the motivation, it is good news that justice will get a chance to dig further into the truth, which is excellent news for democracy.

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