Trial hearings of defendants accused of the massacre of 58 people in Maguindanao will finish by the end of the year, Supreme Court Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno vowed on Thursday, August 27. Prosecution and defense lawyers will finish presenting evidence by the end of 2015, after which the judge has 90 days to issue a verdict, Sereno told reporters. The trial involves members of the influential Ampatuan clan, which allegedly ordered the slaughter of 58 people, including 32 journalists, in the conflict-wracked province of Maguindanao in November 2009. This was believed to be part of an attempt to crush a rival clan’s election challenge. The slow pace of the trial has angered the families of the victims and frustrated President Benigno Aquino III, who has promised a verdict before he steps down from office in mid-2016.
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