GMA News footage belies claim Andal Jr can’t speak Filipino

How true is the claim of Andal Ampatuan Jr’s counsel that his client could speak neither English nor Filipino? The reading of multiple murder charges against Ampatuan was briefly interrupted on Tuesday when lawyer Sigfrid Fortun requested that the charges against Ampatuan be read in the Maguindanaoan language, claiming his client could understand neither English nor Filipino. When no interpreter could be found for the arraignment, the accused was left with no choice but to be arraigned in English. But GMA News video of Ampatuan, which was first aired on Saksi last November 27, showed that he can speak the national language. (WATCH THE EMBEDDED VIDEO) In the footage, Ampatuan, detained at the National Bureau of Investigation headquarters in Manila, was shown and heard speaking fluently in Filipino when he insisted that he had no hand in the Maguindanao massacre in which 57 people were killed.

For the latest Philippine news stories and videos, visit GMANews.TV “Wala po akong kasalanan. Kaya po ako pumunta rito para po ipakita sa inyo na hindi po ako nagtatago at wala po akong kaalam-alam sa ibinibintang sa akin (I did nothing wrong. That’s why I went here to prove to you that I’m not hiding and I don’t know anything about the allegations being hurled against me)." In the same footage, Ampatuan said he wasn’t at the scene of the crime. “Wala po ako ng time na ‘yon, dahil nasa munisipyo po ako (I wasn’t there when it happened because I was at the municipal hall)." He further said that the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) could be behind the killings. “Ang posible po ang MILF po sa pangunguna ni Ameril Umbra Kato…Ang MILF po, alam po natin na…terorista po sila (It’s possible that it was the MILF led by Ameril Umbra Kato…We know that the MILF are terrorists)." - ARCS/HGS, GMANews.TV