MANILA, Philippines?The Supreme Court on Thursday defended a lower court?s decision to postpone the Maguindanao massacre trial, saying the judge handling the case was just following the rules of court.

?I don?t see any error,? high court spokesman Jose Midas Marquez.

Quezon City Regional Trial Court Judge Jocelyn Solis-Reyes moved Wednesday?s trial of 197 people, accused in the massacre of 57 people in the November 23 Maguindanao carnage, to September 8.

The court conducted a three day preliminary conference last month and issued a pre-trial order that would govern the trial and both the defense and prosecution panels were given time to comment.

But the defense lawyers of the accused members of the powerful Ampatuan clan and their alleged cohorts told Reyes at Wednesday?s session in an improvised courtroom at Camp Crame that they needed more time to study the pretrial case summary.

Marquez said both parties needed to comment and submit their agreement to the pre-trial order.

Relatives of the victims of the massacre had expressed disgust over the delay and Justice Secretary Leila De Lima ordered prosecutors to seek the intervention of the Supreme Court as she accused defense lawyers of resorting to numerous petitions to delay the proceedings.

But Marquez said the high tribunal saw no reason to intervene.

?She is a very competent judge. We don?t see any reason to interfere. We submit to the discretion of the court,? he said.