May 6--Acting Justice Secretary Alberto Agra on Wednesday reversed his earlier decision that absolved former Gov. Zaldy Ampatuan of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) and Vice Mayor Akmad

Ampatuan of Mamasapano town of alleged involvement in the Maguindanao massacre of November 23, 2009.

Agra, during a press conference, said that he put back the two Ampatuans on the list of suspects in the mass murder after new witnesses surfaced to tag them for their involvement in the carnage that left 57 people dead.

"I am now convinced in so far as Zaldy Ampatuan and Datu Akmad Ampatuan are concerned that there is probable cause to pursue the case against them," Agra told reporters during the press conference.

The two new witnesses--members of the Ampatuans' private army--corroborated earlier accounts that Zaldy and Akmad Ampatuan were at a meeting where the massacre was allegedly planned, the acting Justice secretary said.

In a 30-page resolution, Agra junked his own April 16 resolution that cleared the two Ampatuans of involvement in the massacre.

He clarified that the reversal of the earlier resolution was based on new arguments brought up by the lawyers of the victims' families, and the new testimonies of two witnesses.

"I granted the motion for reconsideration based on testimonies of additional witnesses," Agra said.

Nena Santos, a lawyer for some of the massacre victims, said that Agra's decision showed there was still hope for a much-maligned justice system.

"We remain aware, however, that this decision does not change the fact that this case is still an uphill legal battle for us," she added.

No pressure to reverse Agra said that he was not pressured by anyone to reverse his earlier resolution, adding that the parties that want to contest the matter can file an appeal before the Court of Appeals.

"All the courts have the options, the prerogatives to reconsider their earlier decisions. The Supreme Court reverses itself, the Court of Appeals, our lower court judges [as well]. This is no different," he said.

Andal Ampatuan Jr., the mayor of Datu Unsay town and Zaldy's brother, is alleged to have led 100 gunmen in abducting a convoy of their political rivals' relatives, journalists and lawyers.

His father, the governor of Maguindanao and a member of President Gloria Arroyo's coalition party, as well as Zaldy and Akmad, were among 196 other people also charged with murder.

But Agra shocked the nation on April 21 when he announced that he was dropping charges against the two Zaldy and Akmad because he did not find enough evidence against them.

Relatives of the victims and human rights and journalists' groups and even the government's own prosecutors denounced Agra's decision.

Critics charged the dropping of charges was part of an effort by President Arroyo to protect the Ampatuans, who were her close allies before the massacre.

She only cut ties with the powerful clan after the massacre, even though critics had long accused the Ampatuans of being warlords who ruled Maguindanao province for a decade through violence and intimidation. With report from AFP

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