Malacanang said on Thursday it was not surprising that the Maguindanao massacre case has been dragging on for years.

Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo made the statement as the country marks on Friday the

Maguindanao massacre, which happened nine years ago.

"We’re not surprised that the wheels of justice in this country grind so slow. Many cases take so long," he said in a press briefing.

But he said what is important is that justice will prevail.

"Rule of law will have to be observed regardless of who are the persons involved in any particular case," said

Panelo, a former lawyer of the Ampatuans, prime suspects in the gruesome killings of 58 people, mostly journalists.

He said the Department of Justice, the agency responsible for prosecuting the case, is "doing its job; its level best to speed up the prosecution of the case."

He also refused to speculate if the Ampatuans would be convicted.

"It’s?you know the courts will always rule on the basis of evidence ? that has been the rule and that has been the training of all lawyers," he said.

Some 58 individuals, including 32 journalists, were killed on November 23, 2009 in Barangay Salman, Ampatuan town in what was considered as the worst incident of electoral violence in the country's recent history.

Among the 197 accused were former Maguindanao Governor Andal Ampatuan Sr., who passed away while in detention in 2015, and his sons Andal Ampatuan Jr., Zaldy Ampatuan and Datu Sajid Islam Ampatuan. Celerina Monte/DMS