The Ampatuan Massacre: a map and timeline

ANALYN PEREZ and TJ DIMACALI, GMANews.TV
11/25/2009 | 07:48 PM

It is called the Ampatuan Massacre here because the crime was committed in Ampatuan town. Elsewhere on this news site, it is still referred to as the Maguindanao Massacre, which is the more common reference, but no other massacre in modern Philippine history has been publicly associated with an entire province.

We offer the following detailed text version showing the timeline of events leading to the tragedy:

About 9:00 am - A convoy of six vehicles carrying journalists, lawyers, and relatives of Maguindanao vice mayor Datu Ismael “Toto" Mangudadatu leaves Buluan to file Mangudadatu’s Certificate of Candidacy at the Comelec office in Shariff Aguak, Maguindanao's capital.

- The convoy is composed of six vehicles: four Toyota Grandia vans (one grey, one green, and two white) owned by the Mangudadatu family; and two media vehicles – a Pajero owned by dzRH broadcast journalist Henry Araneta and a Mitsubishi L-300 van owned by UNTV.
- There is a seventh vehicle, a Grandia van boarded by mediamen. But it lags behind and decides to turn around once the passengers sense what is happening.

- There are two other vehicles that are not part of the convoy but happen to be traveling on the same highway: a red Toyota Vios and a light blue Toyota Tamaraw FX.
- The Vios has five passengers: Eduardo Lechonsito, a government employee who is bound for a hospital in Cotabato City after suffering a mild stroke Monday morning. He is with his wife Cecille, co-workers Mercy Palabrica and Daryll delos Reyes, and driver Wilhelm Palabrica.
- The FX is driven by Anthony Ridao, employee of the National Statistics Coordination Board, and son of Cotabato City councilor Marino Ridao.

About 10:30 am - The convoy and the two other vehicles nearby are traveling on a stretch of the Cotabato-Isulan national highway when they are accosted by a group of about 100 armed men at a checkpoint in Sitio Masalay, Ampatuan town, about 10 kilometers (four, according to another version) from their destination.

- Genalyn Mangudadatu, Toto's wife, manages to make a call to her husband to briefly tell him what was happening.

About 11:00 am - Philippine Army units in the area are alerted and launch a search for the hostages and their abductors.

About 12:00 noon - 25-year-old Noel Decena of the Koronadal-based weekly, Periodico Ini, sent an SMS to his brother, Joseph Decena, who was in Midsayap: "Lab, i-ampo ko diri kay naa na mi diri sa Ampatuan. I-pray mo kami dito. Kritikal amo sitwasyon diri. (Lab, we’re here already at Ampatuan. Pray for us here. Our situation is critical)."

Undetermined times between 10:30 am and 3 pm - Commandeered by the armed men, the vehicles in the convoy, including the Vios and the FX, are driven to a hilly and sparsely-populated part of Sitio Masalay (in other accounts, Sitio Magating) in Brgy. Salman, Ampatuan, Maguindanao. It takes them 30 minutes to reach the area, which is 2.5 kilometers from the highway checkpoint where the victims were abducted.

At the site, a heavy-duty backhoe is used to dig three mass graves.

The armed men systematically kill the hostages using rapid-fire automatic guns. (It is unclear if bladed weapons were used.) The killers start dumping the bodies and vehicles into the mass graves, and begin covering up the site using the backhoe.

This takes place in just over an hour, if one is to believe a masked witness interviewed on Al Jazeera. He claimed to be one of the armed men ordered to do the killing but was bothered by his conscience.

About 3:00 pm - The same witness said that the perpetrators received a call warning them of approaching Army soldiers. The killers hurriedly flee just before Army soldiers arrive, leaving behind more than two dozen unburied victims and their vehicles.

When the Army troops are still approaching about one kilometer from the crime scene, they hear the backhoe's engine roar and see engine smoke coming from the heavy equipment. But when they reach the site, all the killers had already left the area.

The graves are found and the buried vehicles and bodies retrieved

When the Army soldiers arrive, they see 22 of the victims lying dead on the ground and, soon after, discover the newly-covered graves.

There are three gravesites:

(1) In Grave 1 are retrieved 24 of the victims, including three of the five Vios passengers, FX Tamaraw driver, Anthony Ridao, Genalyn Mangdadatu, Eden Mangudadatu, and Farina Mangudadatu
(2) In Grave 2 are found six others along with the Vios, L-300 and the Tamaraw-FX.
(3) In Grave 3 are found five people.

- The first two graves are 10 to 12 feet deep, while the third is just about five feet deep.

All in all, 35 victims are found buried in the three graves, while 22 are found lying on the ground, for a total of 57 fatalities. There are still three to four unidentified bodies.

Contrary to the initial reports released by the Mangudadatu family, none of the retrieved bodies were beheaded and there were no signs of rape. But at least some of the victims were shot in the genital area. Many were shot in the face, rendering them virtually unrecognizable.

Initial findings about the killers' weapons

It appears that all the victims were killed with belt-fed mini-M16 rifles, except for Manila Bulletin reporter Alejandro “Bong" Reblando, who was killed with a shotgun. Reblando was found hogtied in the driver’s seat of the Pajero owned by Henry Araneta.

The backhoe

The yellow-colored backhoe is stamped with the words “Property of the province of Maguindanao - Gov. Datu Andal Ampatuan Sr." – in black letters on the engine casing at the back of the operator’s booth. The backhoe is a heavy-duty model of yet unknown brand.

(Andal Ampatuan Sr., Maguindanao governor, is father and namesake of prime suspect Andal Ampatuan Jr., mayor of Datu Unsay town in the same province. The younger Ampatuan was allegedly seen at the scene of the abduction.)

The operator of the backhoe is missing as of this latest update.

The ensuing public outcry and government actions

Three days after the carnage, amid world-wide condemnation, Presidential Adviser Jesus Dureza convinces the Ampatuan family to give up Andal Jr. He is taken, without handcuffs, from Shariff Aguak to General Santos City where underwent inquest conducted by Justice Secretary Agnes Devanadera.

From his detention cell at the National Bureau of Investigation in Manila on Nov. 26, suspected mastermind Andal Jr. accused the MILF of committing the atrocity.

We will provide more details on this page as police, media, and researchers gather more pieces of the puzzle to reconstruct the whole chain of events.
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http://www.gmanews.tv/story/177821/the-ampatuan-massacre-a-map-and-timeline

After 57 deaths, no suspects

PNP awaits complaints from kin

BY RAYMOND AFRICA

ELEVEN more bodies were found yesterday in a village in Ampatuan town, Maguindanao, bringing to 57 the number of fatalities in the Monday massacre which is being blamed on the Ampatuan clan.

The fatalities – 35 men and 22 women -- included at least 16 media men invited by the rival Mangudadatu clan.

There were four survivors, according to Esmael "Toto" Mangudadatu, and the PNP is requesting him to present them because it said it still has no "suspect."

The Mangudadatus were on their way Monday to the Shariff Aguak capitol to file a certificate of candidacy for Esmael, vice mayor of Buluan town who is running for governor, when their convoy was stopped by about 100 armed men in Saniag village.

The armed men then herded them to the remote hillside village of Salman in the same town, where they were killed with M-16 rifles and machetes.

Authorities have yet to establish the exact number of persons in the convoy, with initial reports placing it at 60.

Chief Supt. Leonardo Espina, PNP spokesman, said Esmael told police investigators he would present the survivors "at the proper time."

He said it would be best for Esmael to let police investigators get the statements of the four supposed because the police "technically" have no suspects yet.

He said the PNP is waiting for Esmael to file a formal complaint.

"We have set of suspects being named by the vice mayor but he has not yet put that in writing. Mahirap yung sinabi nga niya pero baka bandang huli ay ayaw naman niyang pirmahan ang reklamo. Dapat i-formalize niya," he said.

Espina said the CIDG has sent a formal invitation to the Ampatuans.

He said the police have been coordinating with the Mangudadatus. "Please give us your witnesses. Meron pala kayong witnesses diyan pero ayaw bigay sa amin agad. Kung ibigay kunwari to other investigating agencies, for example DOJ, eh di sana natapos na yun. Meron na kaming pinangangalanan ngayon," Espina said.

Pressed as to why the police could not act against the Ampatuans amid the insistence of the Mangudadatus that its rival clan was behind the massacre, Espina said, "Mas maganda na si vice mayor ay i-formalize yung complaint laban sa sino man."

Justice Secretary Agnes Devanadera said there is yet no direct evidence linking the Ampatuan clan to the massacre.

Devanadera, Chief State Prosecutor Jovencito Zuño and a panel of prosecutors were in Koronadal City to personally supervise the investigation and conduct of autopsy on victims, through the help of medico legal teams from the National Bureau of Investigation.

She said the DOJ and the NBI are still in the process of gathering information from witnesses.

"We have to verify that. Kaya kami nagpunta dito ay dahil sa ganyang reports, gusto naming ma-validate. And also gusto naming makita talaga ang mga ebidensyang nakalap," she said.

Espina said as of now, the four policemen relieved from their posts are the only ones under investigation.

They are Senior Supt. Abusana Maguid, Maguindanao police chief; Chief Insp. Sukarno Dicay, the assistant provincial police chief; Insp. Diongon; and SPO2 Baccal.

Dicay, Diongon, and Baccal were reportedly seen at the crime scene. Maguid was booted out due to command responsibility.

Espina said CIDG Director Raul Castañeda is gathering the statements of the first responders to the massacre.

He said Chief Supt. Paisal Umpa, director of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao police, will also be investigated by the CIDG.

He said Umpa will be investigated after reports came out that he turned down the request of Esmael for him to provide police escorts to the convoy.

"Ano ba ang naging action nila nung tumawag na raw yung asawa ni vice mayor na humingi sila ng tulong? Bakti hindi sila gumawa ng aksiyon from the time they received the call? Kasi dapat may immediate action," Espina said.

Esmael on Monday said that after his wife’s telephone call, he called the Maguindanao provincial police director to inform him of the incident. He quoted the police official as saying, "Hindi ko alam yan, wala kaming pakialam diyan."

Esmael’s wife, Genalyn Tiamson-Mangudadatu, was among the fatalities.

Espina said the policemen will be also investigated as to why they did not do anything when the name of Andal Ampatuan Jr., mayor of Datu Unsay town, was being implicated in the crime.

Esmael on Monday said that in their last phone conversation, his wife named Andal Ampatuan Jr. as one of those who blocked their convoy, and that he was acting on orders of his father, Andal Sr., Maguindanao governor.

The conversation of Mangudadatu with his wife lasted for only 15 seconds.

Supt. Arthur Llamas, of the PNP Legal Service, said Esmael’s last conversation "is very vital in the investigation."

But, he said, Esmael "will just have to prove that the conversation really happened."

SLOW PROBE

Esmael expressed frustration over the "slow" investigation and the absence of any arrest.

"I am not satisfied," he said.

He belied the military’s statement that pursuit operations are being conducted.

"There is no pursuit happening because you know it’s Andal," he said referring to the Andal Sr. "We all know Andal, who he is and what he is. He is so strong with the government...What I can say is that the Ampatuans have committed a lot of wrongdoings," he said.

Esmael said it is very clear the Ampatuans were behind the kidnapping and execution of his family members and the media men.

He noted the backhoe owned by the town government that was used to dig the graves of some of the victims.

"I call it a mute witness because it’s a heavy equipment, it cannot speak, but that is a very clear indication that the Ampatuans were the ones who instigated the perpetrators," he said.

Earlier, Mangudadatu’s brother, Madasser, and the military revealed that Andal Jr. was among those who intercepted the group. They suspects were with a group of policemen, police auxiliaries, and government militiamen.

PURSUIT OPERATIONS

The AFP belied Esmael’s statement there is no pursuit operation.

"How will he know since the operations are in the mountains," said Lt. Col. Romeo Brawner Jr., chief of the AFP public affairs office.

He said at least two companies are directly involved in the pursuit operations and several other companies are manning a cordon to prevent the suspects from escaping.

Subject of the pursuit is the 100-man group which waylaid the Mangudadatus’ convoy.

"We know their general area…Our pursuit operations are ongoing. We have also established blocking positions. They are there, I talked with the battalion commander and he has two companies pursuing them," said Brawner.

He said the Army’s 46th Infantry Battalion was returned to Maguindanao yesterday. The battalion was sent off by the Army’s 6th Infantry Division to Samar Monday before the kidnapping.
He said the 46th IB is backed up by armor assets. The Air Force, he said, has also alerted four of their helicopter gunships.

Brawner said the arrival of the 46th IB increased to three the total number of battalions operating in the province. A battalion is composed of about 500 officers and men.

CAFGU GROUPS DISBANDED

The Armed Forces has disbanded the two companies of Special Cafgu Active Auxiliary (SCAA) in Maguindanao which were initially linked to the massacre.

A company is composed of about 120 men.

Brawner said the SCAAs were formed last year on the request of the Ampatuans as "incumbent" local chief executives amid threats posed by rogue members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.

The military had issued these Cafgus with M14 and Garand rifles.

Initial reports said the SCAAs were with Maguindanao policemen and police auxiliaries who intercepted members of the Mangungudatu political clan and mediamen in Ampatuan town. The victims were later executed.

Brawner said the SCAA in Maguindanao is under the administrative control of the local officials. Nevertheless, he said the SCAAs are professional and doubted if they are being used by the Ampatuans as goons.

GOV’T AFRAID?

Esmael said his wife and relatives had no other intention in going to the provincial capitol in Sharif Aguak town, where the local Commission on Elections is situated, but to file his certificate of candidacy.

"It’s clear that my opponents are the Ampatuans but why is it they are not being pursued?" said Mangudadatu, noting that in other cases, law enforcers would immediately detain and even beat an ordinary suspect.

"Now, a big fish committed a crime that is gruesome to the world. How come they are not arrested? Is the government afraid (of the Ampatuans)?" asked Esmael.

Told of the military’s statement that at least two battalions are pursuing the suspects, Esmael said: "They deployed (troops) but there are no movements. They are not going arrest them. Why? Is it because they (Ampatuans) are moneyed, that’s why they cannot be arrested."

"The military should not be slow. Please tell the military not to be slow," he said but added he was not accusing the military of conniving with the Ampatuans.

MUTILATION

Esmael described the Ampatuans as "monsters."
He said his wife was not only shot in the mouth. He said her eyes were pierced, her breasts also shot, her legs were mutilated, and her private part slashed four times.

"This is not done by animals. I don’t know the term that should be used...I cannot call the Ampatuans animals because I take care of animals which I tamed. The term there is not an animal, they are monsters," he said.

Esmael said his family would not retaliate against the Ampatuans and would instead let legal processes take their course. "

We are law-abiding citizens. We are not going to do anything. We are educated," he said.

Esmael’s uncle, Rep. Datu Pax Mangudadatu (Lakas-Kampi, Sultan Kudarat) sought a House inquiry.

"It is reported that the murder were perpetrated together with some members of the Philippine National Police (PNP) and armed civilian personnel led by (Datu Unsay) Mayor Datu Andal Ampatuan Jr. whose power and influence in Maguindanao politics must be stopped," he said in a resolution.

At the Senate, Senators Benigno Aquino III and Manuel Roxas II also filed a resolution expressing "the sense of the Senate condemning in the strongest possible terms the brutal and inhuman election-related massacre and carnage of innocent civilians in the Maguindanao province."

They also called for an inquiry.

`NO EVIDENCE OF RAPE’

Devanadera said there were "significant findings" of powder burns in the bodies of the victims.

"This is an indication that they were killed at close range. There were also slugs recovered that showed that the suspects used high-powered guns. But so far, there’s no evidence of rape or beheadings," Devanadera said.

She declined to answer queries whether investigators have witnesses in their custody who could identify the perpetrators.

"We still have nothing pointing to the Ampatuans as suspects or perpetrators... we are concentrating in gathering evidence for the filing of cases."

Devanadera said they are awaiting a formal report from the NBI.

Of the 57 bodies recovered, 24 are being autopsied by the NBI.

Lawyer Reynaldo Esmeralda, NBI Deputy Director for Technical

ARMY RESPONSE

The killers could have gotten away with the crime had Army soldiers not verified on time the information that nobody from the Mangudadatu convoy could reached by cellphone.

Sources said Maj. Gen. Alfredo Cayton, commander of the Army’s 6th Infantry Division, sent a chopper to check the area.

After seeing bodies, the chopper team radioed their colleagues who in turn went to the area to check.

Upon arrival of the Army troopers, the killers scampered in different directions, leaving five vehicles and 22 bodies they have yet to bury. The killers also left the government-owned backhoe behind.

"That was when the massacre was discovered, when the Army soldiers came in. They (killers) could have gotten away with the crime," one of the sources said.

Three vehicles – an L-300 van owned by UNTV, a Toyota Tamaraw FX, and a Toyota Vios – were also dug up in the area. – With Evangeline de Vera, Victor Reyes, Jocelyn Montemayor, Wendell Vigilia and JP Lopez
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http://www.malaya.com.ph/11262009/news1.html

Witnesses point to Andal Jr. as ‘commander’ in slaughter

GMANews.tv

11/27/2009 | 05:14 PM


Purported participants in the gruesome massacre in Maguindanao have pointed to Datu Unsay town mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr. as ordering the slaughter of at least 57 people last Monday, with one witness saying the mayor shot at the victims himself.

Justice secretary Agnes Devanadera made the revelation in an interview over GMA News' Hirit Friday morning, hours before the Department of Justice (DOJ) was set to release its resolution on the inquest proceedings on the massacre.

When asked by GMA News' Arnold Clavio whether witnesses whom the department has talked to confirmed rumors that Andal Jr. shot at the victims himself, Devanadera said: "Dun sa isa, meron nasabing ganun. Dun sa isa talagang nag-uutos, talagang kumander, ganun."

(One witnesses said something like that [that Andal Jr. shot at the victims himself]. Another witness said he was really giving orders, really acting as commander.)

Devanadera said one witness in particular came to the DOJ because he was already too bothered by his conscience.

"Kasama siya sa grupo pero mukhang hindi nakabaril e sa dami nila (He was with the group, but it looked like he wasn't able to shoot at the victims because they were so many)," she said.

Devanadera said the witness' conscience nagged at him because he thought only the members of the Mangudadatu clan, the Ampatuans' political rival, would be shot.

"Akala niya Mangudadatus lang ang babarilin pero... it turned out na lahat-lahat (He thought only the Mangudadatus would be shot but it turned out that everyone would be killed)," Devanadera said. "Saka yung manner… of doing it, parang wala ka na sa kaisipan mo pagka ganun, grabe talaga (And the manner of doing it, no person in his or her right mind could have done something like that, that’s really heinous)."

The witness, one of an unspecified number that the DOJ is communicating with, is supposedly one of the more than 100 men ordered by Andal Jr. to kill the wife, two sisters, and supporters of Buluan town vice mayor Ismael "Toto" Mangudadatu.

Journalists and lawyers who were in the Mangudadatus' convoy, which was on its way to Shariff Aguak to file Toto's certificate of candidacy, were also killed. Andal Jr. is said to be being groomed by his father, Maguindanao governor Andal Ampatuan Sr., to succeed him in the gubernatorial post. [See: Map and timeline of Maguindanao massacre]

At least 57 have been found dead, many of them buried in three mass graves apparently dug by a government-owned backhoe, in Ampatuan town just at the outskirts of the provincial capital.

Some of the female victims’ pants were pulled down, said Devanadera, adding that the genitals of many of the women were shot. The Justice chief said they cannot rule out sexual assault yet as autopsy results are still pending.

"Alam mo naman ang tao e may tinatawag na threshold yan (We all know that each person has a certain threshold)," Devanadera said in explaining what may have made their witness come out and go against the Ampatuans, the most powerful political clan in Maguindanao.

"Hindi na siya makatulog e kasi di niya in-expect na talagang tutuluyan nang ganun (He cannot sleep anymore because he did not expect that everyone would be killed that way)," she added.

Devanadera said the witness' testimony was exactly like what another supposed witness interviewed by Al Jazeera said: that Andal Jr. orchestrated the massacre.

She said all witnesses' testimonies and evidence so far point to Andal Jr., and not to the group of Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) rogue commander Umbra Kato whom Andal Jr. claimed was behind the gruesome massacre. [See: Andal Jr. blames MILF for massacre]

"Wala naman kaming nakita doong Umbra Katong salaysay e (We did not see testimonies pointing to Umbra Kato)," she said.

The DOJ chief said prosecutors will likely come out with their resolution on the inquest proceedings conducted since Thursday, shortly after Andal Jr. turned himself over to authorities for investigation. But this early, Devanadera said they have a good case against Andal Jr., who is currently detained at the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) headquarters in Manila.

"Insofar as the mayor is concerned, at this point in time wala akong nakikitang rason bakit yan pwedeng makalabas (I don't see any reason why he can be released) with the kind of evidence we have," she said.

In a separate interview on dzRH radio, Devanadera said the DOJ has recommended to Malacañang to transfer all suspects in the massacre to a "special" detention facility as it may be dangerous to mix them with other inmates.

"Sa report ko kay Pangulo, naglagay ako ng recommendation that there should be a special place for all of them. Mahirap ihalo sa ibang preso at masyadong marami (In my report to the President, I recommended that there should be a special place for all of them. It will be hard to mix them up with other inmates since there may be too many of them)," Devanadera said.

Aside from Andal Jr., authorities have also rounded up some civilian volunteers believed to have been involved in the crime.
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http://www.gmanews.tv/story/177984/witnesses-point-to-andal-jr-as-commander-in-slaughter

Ampatuan Jr. Held at NBI

‘Not guilty,’ says main suspect in massacre

Philippine Daily Inquirer
Posted date: November 27, 2009

GENERAL SANTOS CITY — Andal Ampatuan Jr. was in denial and even tried to hide his face behind a scarf under a barrage of questions from reporters asking if he masterminded Monday’s massacre of 57 people.

“There is no truth to that,” said Ampatuan, mayor of Datu Unsay town in Maguindanao, ruled by his family that is a close ally of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. “The reason I came out is to prove that I am not hiding and that I am not guilty.”

Ampatuan was placed in government custody after his brother, Gov. Zaldy Ampatuan of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, turned him over to Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Jesus Dureza Thursday morning.

But as Mayor Ampatuan stepped out of the helicopter that transported him from Shariff Aguak town to the airport here, the scarf was gone. He was sporting a red and blue putong, a headband usually used by Moro warriors.

Justice Secretary Agnes Devanadera waited two hours for the arrival of Ampatuan, accompanied by Dureza. The mayor was then led to the airport’s VIP lounge for a summary inquest at mid-afternoon after his lawyer, Seigfred Fortun, arrived.

Esmael Mangudadatu, the vice mayor of Buluan town whose wife, two sisters and two lawyers were among the 57 killed while en route to file his certificate of candidacy for governor of Maguindanao in the May elections, was visibly enraged.

He tried to raise his fist toward Ampatuan, who was just a meter away, sitting. But agents of the National Bureau of Investigation intervened.

Mangudadatu later told reporters he was enraged but that he had to contain his anger. “I don’t know what I could do, but truth will come out. Whatever the court decides, should be accepted,” he said in Filipino.

‘We Want Justice’

His brother, Buluan Mayor Ebrahim Mangudadatu, said: “We want justice. We leave this to the law ... We are educated. We do not kill people,” Ebrahim said.

During the brief inquest at the airport, state prosecutors heard preliminary evidence given by police, victims’ relatives and Mayor Ampatuan himself.

Devanadera told reporters after the hearing that prosecutors would evaluate the evidence and decide by the weekend whether criminal charges would be brought against Ampatuan.

“Wait until we come out with our resolution in 36 hours,” Devanadera said, when asked if charges would be laid.

At the hearing, victims’ relatives asked prosecutors to charge Ampatuan with multiple murder.

At 3:50 p.m., Ampatuan was flown to Manila, where he arrived three hours later. He was then whisked off to the NBI office in Manila under tight security.

Dureza told the Philippine Daily Inquirer that Ampatuan would be held at the NBI jail “for as long as needed” based on the agreement between the complainants and the accused.

Devanadara said Thursday night in Manila that prosecutors were working overnight on a charge sheet for multiple murder to be filed Friday in the Cotabato City Regional Trial Court.

Allah Will Take Care of Them

But Ebrahim Mangudadatu told the Inquirer his family was not yet satisfied because the other assailants were at large.

“The massacre was planned. All those involved should be held to account,” he said.

The vice mayor also asked journalists to closely watch the progress of the case to avoid a whitewash.

“Let our family make the sacrifice. Allah will take care of them,” he said. “The blood that many of your colleagues shed should not go to waste.”

Mayor Ampatuan is the son of the Maguindanao governor, a Muslim clan chief of the same name who during his rule gave Ms Arroyo and her allies victories in the presidential election of 2004 and the senatorial contest in 2007.

The elder Ampatuan had been grooming his namesake son to take over as governor of Maguindanao. The victims’ relatives alleged the Ampatuans organized the murders so that Mangudadatu would not run for that post.

The attackers herded the victims to a remote hillside and attacked them with M-16 rifles and machetes.

27 Journalists Slain

The 57 dead included 27 journalists and up to 15 motorists who, like the reporters, had no known quarrels with the Ampatuans, said Lt. Col. Jonathan Ponce, a military spokesperson.

The 15 motorists unrelated to the Mangudadatus were aboard at least two vehicles that happened to drive past as the convoy was stopped by the gunmen, Ponce added.

Police continued the search around the sites of the mass graves Thursday, but no more bodies were found, Ponce said.

Police and troops deployed in Maguindanao have disarmed 347 members of the Special Active Auxiliary (SCAA) of the Civilian Armed Forces Geographical Unit (CAFGU) employed by the provincial government.

“All security people are also possible suspects,” said Director Andres Caro of the Philippine National Police. “We are investigating them. More or less it will total about 400, including cops and families.”

Provincial Officials are Suspects

Four senior policemen from Maguindanao had also been brought to Manila for questioning about their roles in the massacre, and all policemen from Ampatuan town were being considered suspects, according to Interior Secretary Ronaldo Puno.

He said he had also recommended to Ms Arroyo that all provincial officials be suspended and that Ampatuan Sr. be investigated for his potential links to the murders.

Puno said authorities had not been able to act as quickly as many wanted because local police and soldiers were suspected of being loyal to the Ampatuans.

“It was very difficult for us to rely on the local military and police forces to carry out the directives of the central headquarters on both the armed forces and police side,” he said.

Puno said he had warned the family they risked a military attack unless they turned over Ampatuan by midday Thursday.

As the helicopter carrying Ampatuan took off from Shariff Aguak, shots rang out but the aircraft was not hit, said Lt. Gen. Raymundo Ferrer, chief of the Eastern Mindanao Command. It wasn’t clear who fired the shots.

Maguindanao Tense

Ferrer said the area around the Maguindanao capital was tense after troops disarmed the militiamen loyal to the Ampatuans. Such militias are meant to act as an auxiliary force to the military and police in fighting rebels and criminals but often serve as politicians’ private armies.

The military deployed tanks and truckloads of troops throughout the province under a state of emergency to hunt down the attackers and prevent retaliatory violence from the victims’ clan.

And despite more than 1,000 extra soldiers being sent into Maguindanao to restore order, the military said most of the Ampatuan family’s militiamen alleged to have carried out the massacre were still on the run.

“Most of the armed group that perpetrated this crime have run away towards the mountainous area of Maguindanao,” said Lt. Col. Romeo Brawner Jr., spokesperson of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. “That is where we are conducting our pursuit operations.”

Palace Welcomes Surrender

Malacañang on Thursday welcomed the surrender of Ampatuan.

“The taking in, inquest and the subsequent filing of charges against Datu Unsay [Mayor] Ampatuan is just the beginning,” Press Secretary Cerge Remonde said. “President Arroyo wants all the culprits punished without fear or favor.”

Caro said that investigators were not ruling out the involvement of Ampatuan Sr. and Zaldy Ampatuan in the massacre.

“We are also looking into that,” Caro said.

Caro explained the situation on the ground was complex because of several factors.

“This is an autonomous regional government area. There is actual real immediate threat from MILF (Moro Islamic Liberation Front) groups. There are infamous reports of warlordism culture and we have to admit the fact that some of our local security forces are in some way were or are under influence of political leaders,” he said.

“We cannot trust the local forces so we have to inject troops from the outside.” Reports from TJ Burgonio, Jocelyn R. Uy, Jeannette I. Andrade, Dona Z. Pazzibugan, Leila B. Salaverria, Volt Contreras, Aquiles Z. Zonio, Rosa May V. de Guzman, Dennis Jay Santos, Charlie Señase and Julie S. Alipala, AP, AFP and Reuters

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Massacre women victims shot in genitals—DoJ chief

Agence France-Presse
First Posted 12:52:00 11/27/2009

MANILA, Philippines – Female victims of a political massacre in the Philippines that left 57 people dead were shot in their genitals and may have been raped, Justice Secretary Agnes Devanadera said on Friday.

"Even the private parts of the women were shot at. It was horrible. It was not done to just one. It was done practically to all the women," Devanadera said on GMA Network.

"The zippers of their pants were all undone. We have yet to determine whether they were raped. But it is certain that something bad was done to them."

Police previously said at least 22 of the victims were women.

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Andal Jr. Known as ‘Hatchet Man’

Philippine Daily Inquirer Agence France-Presse

Posted date: November 27, 2009

MANILA, Philippines — Feared and loathed by his enemies, Andal Ampatuan Jr. is known as the “hatchet man” of a powerful Muslim clan in Mindanao whose family history is written in blood.

A chubby, stone-faced man in his 40s with a penchant for expensive guns, he is the son and namesake of the clan patriarch who has ruled as governor of Maguindanao province for most of this decade.

Ampatuan Jr. denies any role in this week’s massacre of 57 people in Maguindanao who were allegedly targeted to end a political challenge from a rival clan.

But Ampatuan Jr. and his father have long had reputations for using fear and violence to stifle opponents and expand their power, according to the country’s top human rights officials and others who have knowledge about the family.

“The Maguindanao political warlords are really the ones giving crucial or swing votes to administration candidates,” Leila de Lima, chair of the Commission on Human Rights, told Agence France-Presse.

She said the Ampatuan family “act like Gods” in Maguindanao.

De Lima is a former election lawyer who once represented an official who lost to an Ampatuan family member in the 2007 congressional vote allegedly through fraud.

‘I am Loved’

In a previous interview with Reuters news agency, Ampatuan Sr. said the reason he was able to stay long in power in Maguindanao was “because of popular support.”

“Because I am so loved by the constituencies of the municipalities, they ask me to have my sons as representatives,” Ampatuan Sr. said in that interview, referring to his sons who have also been elected into office.

De Lima said the local population was fearful of the Ampatuans, noting that there had been similar, but smaller-scale killings, to Monday’s massacre in Maguindanao in recent years that had been linked to the family.

No One Dares

Reporters in the region also said many people lived in fear of the clan.

“No one here dares to go against the Ampatuans,” one local journalist said, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of his own life.

“It is public knowledge that he (Ampatuan Jr.) is the ‘hatchet man’ for the family,” the reporter, who has covered the clan’s rise to power, claimed.

The Ampatuans belong to an old warrior lineage in Maguindanao.

Many Ampatuan clan members fought military repression during the martial law rule of Ferdinand Marcos, according to Julkipli Wadi, an Islamic studies scholar at the University of the Philippines.

Consolidating Power

Their rise to political prominence, however, came when Ampatuan Sr. was named officer in charge of the province after Marcos fell in 1986, Wadi said.

He eventually was elected governor of the province in 2001, consolidating his grip on power by stockpiling arms and co-opting government militiamen deputized to fight against insurgent groups, Wadi said.

“The Ampatuans are the political warlords in the area. Any attempt at politics by a rival family they consider as threat to their rule is violently cut short,” Wadi said.

“They shared power among themselves, ruling with an iron fist in Maguindanao backed up by their huge armory.”

End in Sight

For administration presidential candidate Gilberto Teodoro Jr., an “ending” may be in sight for the political dominance of the Ampatuan clan in Maguindanao.

“They blew their chance to lead the ARMM (Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao),” said the standard-bearer of the ruling Lakas-Kampi-CMD coalition.

“What kind of an ending is this?” Teodoro asked rhetorically, referring to the massacre which he described as something “beyond hate crime, but an act of lunacy.”

New Blood

The executive committee of Lakas-Kampi-CMD voted unanimously on Wednesday to expel the Ampatuans for “their failure to uphold party ideals and principles in their area of jurisdiction, specifically relating to the peaceful, legal and democratic pursuit and exercise of political power.”

“For the time being politically, nobody will touch them,” Teodoro told reporters in General Santos City.

Teodoro made the remark when asked to assess what the future holds for the Ampatuans in the political arena.

He said expelling the Ampatuans “will not hurt” the ruling party and could even present an “opportunity for Lakas to get new blood.”

Security Concerns

Teodoro flew from Manila to General Santos City supposedly to meet witnesses to the crime and escort them to the capital. But the plan was aborted at the last minute due to security concerns, he said.

Teodoro said that “realistically speaking,” a full-blown trial that could arise from the massacre may not be over before President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo steps down next June.

But he said what was important was for the prosecution to immediately start lest “the witnesses lose courage.” Reports from Agence France-Presse and Volt Contreras

©Copyright 2001-2009 INQUIRER.net, An Inquirer Company
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Massacre Witness Surfaces, Tags Ampatuan

By Lira Dalangin-Fernandez
Reporter
INQUIRER.net

Posted date: November 26, 2009

MANILA, Philippines – A witness in the carnage in Maguindanao that claimed the lives of at least 57 people has surfaced and claimed that he was merely “following orders” and identified Andal Ampatuan Jr. as the alleged mastermind, according to an article posted on the Al-Jazeera news website.

“Anyone from the Mangudadatu clan – women or children – should be killed... We don't ask why, we just followed orders," the witness who identified himself as “Boy” told Al-Jazeera correspondent Marga Ortigas in an interview posted on the network’s website Thursday.

“Boy” said that the orders came directly from Andal Ampatuan Jr., Datu Unsay mayor, and whose family was also an ally of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

Ampatuan Jr. is the son of Maguindanao Governor Andal Sr., both belonging to the powerful Ampatuan clan in Mindanao. The younger Ampatuan was charged with multiple murder before the Department of Justice Thursday when he was surrendered by a member of his family to authorities. He was tagged by, among others, the wife of his family’s political rival, Buluan Mayor Esmael Mangudadatu, before she was killed last November 23, along with 56 others.

“Boy” admitted that he was one of the 100 armed men who stopped the six-vehicle convoy of the Mangudadatus who were on their way to file the certificate of candidacy of the Buluan mayor. Also in the convoy were Mangudadatu’s two sisters, two lawyers, and journalists who were to cover the event.

The group was massacred in a mountainous area, said “Boy,” adding that all the slain women were raped, and the journalists who were part of the convoy, also killed so that no one would talk about the incident.

The bodies of the victims were in shallow graves that were dug using an excavator, according to the report.

"Boy" said the whole process lasted little more than an hour before they abruptly abandoned the scene following a warning that members of the military were nearby, the report added.

"We didn't get to finish, which is why the excavator was left there," he said. "Someone called and said soldiers were on their way. I feel they have connections among the soldiers."

But “Boy” denied killing anyone, saying he just stood while the massacre was being carried out. He told Al-Jazeera that he was now in hiding for fear of his life.

INQUIRER.net tried to get a reaction from Defense Secretary Norberto Gonzales, but the official said he was in a meeting.

©Copyright 2001-2009 INQUIRER.net, An Inquirer Company
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Cops ‘arrest’ suspects in Maguindanao massacre

11/26/2009 | 08:04 AM


Amid claims that Malacañang is going easy on the suspects in the Maguindanao massacre, the Philippine National Police announced Thursday the arrest of some civilian volunteers linked to the crime.

PNP chief Director General Jesus Verzosa also said a member of the Ampatuan clan linked to the murders has sent feelers he will “surrender."

“Meron tayong nakuha (We have taken into custody some people who are now) subject to investigation. Their firearms will be examined, their fingerprints will be compared with those we have taken in the crime scene," Verzosa said in an interview on dzBB radio.

The arrests came three days after the grisly massacre that drew condemnation from national and international groups, which noted that the Ampatuans are political allies of President Arroyo.

Verzosa did not identify the suspects, or say how many of them were in police custody as of early Thursday.

But he cited testimonies by witnesses who were earlier interviewed as saying that the suspects included Citizens Armed Forces Geographical Unit (Cafgu) and civilian volunteer organization members.

Verzosa also said the police have secured the compound of the Maguindanao provincial capitol in Shariff Aguak, and the town hall in Ampatuan town, which has jurisdiction over the massacre site.

“May report na nagpuntahan sila sa kapitolyo ang mga suspek, that’s why we are securing the capitol. We will be conducting investigation on suspects and possible witnesses na makita sa lugar na yan (There were reports the suspects fled to the capitol to hide, that’s why we secured it. We will investigate suspects there, and interview possible witnesses as well)," he said.

Meanwhile, Verzosa said some members of the Ampatuan clan are considered “suspects" in the incident where armed men blocked the convoy led by the wife of Buluan Vice Mayor Esmael Mangudadatu last Monday.

At least 59 people were killed in the incident, including Mangudadatu’s wife Genalyn.

“They are considered suspects," Verzosa said when asked how the PNP considers the Ampatuans.

“At this point, Datu Unsay town mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr. is a suspect. Presidential adviser for Mindanao Jesus Dureza will accompany him for the investigation," he said.

Vice Mayor Mangudadatu had recalled his last phone conversation with Genalyn who said Mayor Ampatuan slapped her shortly before his men killed the victims.

Verzosa said the PNP “already invited" Mayor Ampatuan for questioning. “Siya ngayon ay isang suspect (The mayor is a suspect)," Verzosa said.

“Kung sinong tao ang ma-implicate sa investigation, they will be invited (Whoever will be implicated in the investigation, they will be invited). If charges are filed we will be arresting them," he added.

For its part, the Armed Forces of the Philippines said it has deactivated the Cafgu in Ampatuan town.

AFP spokesman Lt. Col. Romeo Brawner Jr. added they have set up additional checkpoints and are checking for loose firearms.

But Brawner said there is no reason to shake up the leadership of the local military in Maguindanao.

“As far as the AFP leadership is concerned, we see no need for of a shake-up," he said in an interview on dzXL radio.

Lack of arrests

An international media watchdog group on Thursday raised questions over what it claimed as “failure of making arrests" of suspects in Monday’s massacre.

“Is one of Mindanao’s most powerful clans more powerful than the law itself?"

Reporters Without Borders (Reporters Sans Frontieres) hurled this question at the Gloria Macapagal Arroyo administration Thursday after it failed to make arrests over the bloodbath that killed at least 57 people in Maguindanao province.

“The toll from this massacre keeps rising but the governor’s son, the leading suspect, still has not been questioned by the police. President Gloria Arroyo says those responsible will be arrested and tried but all the information coming from the field so far indicates the contrary," the RSF statement said.

“Why have the governor’s son and the governor himself not been arrested? Are Mindanao Island’s power barons more powerful than the law itself? The Philippine government’s credibility is at stake," it added.

RSF said 26 journalists were among those killed in the massacre, supposedly carried out by alleged supporters of Governor Andal Ampatuan Sr.

It quoted a journalist from Koronadal City as saying the “bloodbath is beyond human understanding."

Nonoy Espina of the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP), who is in Mindanao, told RSF that tallying and identifying the bodies is slow, but 26 journalists from several towns were killed.

“The government is not doing enough to arrest those responsible. How can the president’s adviser be pleased about obtaining undertakings from the governor when his son, the leading suspect, is still free? Settling for mere promises is unacceptable after this massacre,"
Espina said.

RSF noted the murdered journalists are as follows: Alejandro “Bong" Reblando of Manila Bulletin, Henry Araneta of radio DZRH, Bart Maravilla of Bombo Radyo Koronadal, Nap Salaysay of DZRO, Ian Subang of Pilipino Star Ngayon and Dadiangas Times, and freelance reporters Humberto Mumay, Ranie Razon, Noel Decena, John Caniba, Joel Parcon, Marife Montano, Art Belia and Jun Legarta.

The fatalities could include four UNTV reporters – Joy Duhay, Victor Nuñez, Macario Ariola and Jimmy Cabillo. Philippine news media have also named Leah Dalmacio of Mindanao Focus, Gina de la Cruz and Marites Cablitas of Today, Andy Teodoro of the Mindanao Inquirer, Bienvenido Lagarte of the Sierra News, Neneng Montaño of the weekly Saksi and Rey Merescon of MindaNews.

“The attackers reportedly raped, tortured and beheaded some of the victims. Most of the bodies have been found in mass graves," it said.

So far, it noted several members of Maguindanao police have been arrested and are being held in barracks while the Army announced the Ampatuan clan’s private militia will be disbanded. - LG, GMANews.TV
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Military takes over Maguindanao capitol

abs-cbnNEWS.com | 11/26/2009 7:11 AM

MANILA - The military on Thursday morning took control of the provincial capitol and two municipal halls in Maguindanao as authorities prepare to take into custody a member of a powerful political clan suspected of leading an election-related massacre of 57 people.

Armed Forces' spokesman Lt. Col. Romeo Brawner said the military took control of the provincial capitol of Maguindanao and the municipal buildings of Shariff Aguak and Ampatuan towns around 4:30 a.m.

Brawner said the military already has physical control of the local government compounds.

He said the military has started disarming militia members that are loyal to the powerful clan of the Ampatuans.

The military leadership on Wednesday announced that it has deactivated two Special Cafgu Active Auxillary (SCAA) companies in Maguindanao. It said all firearms, ammunitions, equipment and uniforms of the members of the two Cafgu companies will be turned over to the Army's 6th Infantry Division.

National Police chief Director General Jesus Verzosa announced that as of 7 a.m., they have already disarmed and taken into custody 20 Cafgu members allegedly involved in the massacre.

"We are hoping that by this action we will bring in peaceful resolution of this problem in Maguindanao," Brawner told ABS-CBN's Umagang Kay Ganda.

The military spokesman, meanwhile, clarified that there was no "martial rule" in the province and that the three local government units will "still function as government units."

Brawner said they are expecting the Ampatuan clan to surrender Datu Unsay town Mayor Andal "Unsay" Ampatuan Jr. to Presidential Adviser on Mindanao Affairs Jesus Dureza on Thursday morning.

"Today we are expecting Mayor Unsay Ampatuan to be turned over peacefully to the authorities," he said.

The mayor is being tagged as the mastermind in the massacre of 57 people in Ampatuan town on Monday. Among those killed were the wife of Buluan town Vice-Mayor Esmael Mangudadatu and his two sisters.

Mangudadatu's wife, escorted by supporters and journalists, was on her way to file a certificate of candidacy for governor on behalf of her husband when they were stopped and massacred by 100 armed men in Barangay Saniag, Ampatuan town.

Ampatuan Jr. allegedly wanted to stop the wife from filing the COC. He was being groomed by the Ampatuan family to succeed the gubernatorial post.

Police spokesman Chief Superintendent Leonardo Espina said Ampatuan Jr. will be investigated upon his surrender and may be arrested "if warranted."

"There is a process being observed. Through his surrender he will be investigated and the process will go on until the warrant of arrest comes out," he said.

Pursuing killers

Espina said the Philippine National Police has relieved the whole police force, including the chief of police, of Ampatuan town as they intensify pursuit operations against the suspects involved in the massacre.

He said all members of Civilian Volunteers Organizations (CVOs) and SCAA in Maguindanao and in the two municipalities will be disarmed and investigated for their alleged involvement in the gruesome killing.

Fingerprint samples will be taken from all militia members and their firearms will be subjected to ballistics examinations, the police spokesman said.

He added that all CVO and SCAA members who will be taken into custody will be brought to the crisis management committee's headquarters in Sultan Kudarat.

He said the police will also recommend the suspension of supervision of local chief executives over all police forces in all the areas where the operations are being conducted.

Espina said that a total gun ban is also being implemented in the whole province of Maguindanao and in the towns of Shariff Aguak and Ampatuan.
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The untouchable: PNP won't touch Mayor Ampatuan

By Cecile Suerte Felipe (The Philippine Star) Updated November 26, 2009 12:00 AM

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine National Police (PNP) yesterday refused to categorically name Datu Unsay Mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr., a political ally of President Arroyo, as the prime suspect in an election-linked massacre in Maguindanao in the absence of concrete evidence against the Ampatuan family.

This came amid speculations that Ampatuan Jr. had already fled the country. Other sources, however, said that he is still in Maguindanao.

National police spokesman Chief Super intendent Leonardo Espina earlier said that “according to initial reports, those who were abducted and murdered at Saniag were stopped by a group led by the mayor of Datu Unsay.”

But Espina later backtracked and told reporters “to verify first the report” because the word suspect is a technical term.

“Let’s evaluate first if he will be implicated in the statements. After it is done and concluded, if he is included then his status will change. That’s the time we call him suspect,” the PNP spokesman said.


Ampatuan is a member of the ruling Lakas-Kampi-CMD coalition and a son of an extremely powerful politician in the region who has ensured local support for President Arroyo in previous elections.

The military and the relatives of the victims had previously named the bodyguards of the Ampatuans as the suspects in Monday’s massacre in which relatives and supporters of a rival politician, and a group of journalists who went with them to cover the filing of his Certificte of Candidacy, were abducted and brutally killed in a village on the outskirts of a town that bears the clan’s name.

Espina’s comments were the first time Ampatuan Jr. was specifically mentioned in connection with the gruesome massacre.

He was being groomed to succeed his father, who is on his third and last term as Maguindanao governor.

Espina said he is hopeful that charges against the perpetrators will be filed within the week.
Complicity of men in uniform?

Espina also said it will question Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) police director Chief Superintendent Paisal Umpa on why he did not grant the request of Buluan Mayor Mangudadatu for a security detail on the convoy.

It was earlier reported that Umpa rejected Mangudadatu’s request for police protection.

“He will be investigated for that. He has also yet to make and submit a report on the incident,” Espina said.

The PNP earlier relieved and placed under investigation Maguindanao police director Senior Superintendent Abdusana Maguid and his deputy, Chief inspector Zukarno Dicay.

Central Mindanao’s Muslim and Christian communities have also asked for a probe on Col. Medardo Jeslani, commander of the Army’s 601st Brigade, who they said ignored the presence of armed men along Barangay Salman, Ampatuan days before the incident.

The 601st Brigade has jurisdiction over Ampatuan and surrounding towns in the second district of Maguindanao, the known political bailiwicks of former Gov. Andal Ampatuan Sr.

Even lowly Army intelligence operatives of battalions under the 601st Brigade said they had informed their superiors, all under Jeslani, of the presence of the suspects on Friday.

“I was told by my superiors that we can’t do anything because it’s a political thing and that we should not interfere,” an Army agent told reporters.

The suspects, according to farmers residing near Barangay Salman, even erected an Army squad tent in a spot not far from the highway where they kept their firearms, some of them M-60 machineguns.

Witnesses said the gunmen were even seen mingling with policemen from the Maguindanao provincial police while in the area.

Maguindanao massacre claims at least 36 lives (update)

AIE BALAGTAS SEE, GMANews.TV

11/23/2009 | 05:52 PM

(Updated 7:42 p.m.) They belonged to the rival Mangudadatu clan, but since they were women accompanied by a media delegation, they believed they were safe, protected by the Koranic prescription to spare women.

No one could have predicted the ruthlessness that met them.

At least 36 people, mostly identified with Buluan, Maguindanao vice mayor Datu Ismail "Toto" Mangudadatu and including a dozen media people, were abducted and later killed on Monday by gunmen allegedly led by members of the Ampatuan political clan.

Toto's wife, Genalyn Tiamzon-Mangudadatu, was among those killed, according to Toto himself.

Madaser Mangudadato, Toto's brother and assemblyman in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), said some of the victims were beheaded.

Even in the annals of political violence in the Philippines, this incident may have no equal in its brutality and in number of lives taken. The Plaza Miranda bombing in 1971 killed nine at a rally of the Liberal Party.

Philippine journalism's worst tragedy

The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) said the victims in Maguindanao included at least 12 journalists.

NUJP officer Rowena Paraan said this is the worst single tragedy to hit Philippine journalism. "Not even in Iraq has there ever been this many dead journalists in one incident. And this one was deliberate,"she stressed. The Philippines has long been regarded as among the deadliest countries for journalists.

Paraan identified some of the victims as Bart Maravilla of Bombo Radyo-Koronadal, Henry Araneta of DZRH-Cotabato, Bong Reblando of the Manila Bulletin, and Neneng Montano of radio station DXCP.

Reports from NUJP chapters in Mindanao also listed the following media persons, whose affiliations were not immediately available, as among the victims: Ian Toblan, Leah Dalmacio, Gina dela Cruz, Marites Cabutas, Joy Duhay, Andy Teodoro, Mac-Mac Areola, and Jimmy Cabillo.

Lt. Col. Romeo Brawner Jr., spokesman of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), said in a local television interview that 21 bodies - 13 female and eight male - have so far been recovered from the Maguindanao massacre.

The victims were abducted at about 10:30 a.m. while on their way to the Maguindanao Comelec office in Shariff Aguak to file a certificate of candidacy (COC) in behalf of Toto, who intends to run for governor in the province. Shariff Aguak, the provincial capital, is widely known as Ampatuan turf.

Sources in Cotabato City fault the Comelec for transferring the regional office there this year from Cotabato City where it would have been easier for rivals to file their COCs.

Knowing that it would be suicidal for him to venture into Ampatuan territory, Toto Mangudadatu sent his wife and two sisters, believing that fellow Muslims would not dare harm the women. For good measure, the women were accompanied by lawyers and media professionals. They were all abducted anyway. A source familiar with the two families says there is little hope that any one of the hostages survived.

"Away politika po ito dahil yung nangyari pong pagdukot sa mga kamag-anak ni (Mangudadatu) by the elements of Mayor Ampatuan, sa ngayon po tinitingnan natin itong anggulo na ito," Brawner said on "24 Oras."

ARMM Governor Datu Zaldy Ampatuan, center, joins Shariff Kabunsuan Congressman Didagen Dilangalen, left, in welcoming President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo upon her arrival at MSU-Maguindanao, Shariff Kabunsuan Province in this photo taken July 21, 2008. Ronald Navarro-PCPO

"Unequaled in history"

Presidential adviser on Mindanao affairs Jesus Dureza said the "gruesome massacre" was "unequaled in recent history."

"Even women and media men were not spared. There must be a total stop to this senseless violence," Dureza said as he recommended the placing of the entire Maguindanao province under a state of emergency.

"Anything less will not work," he said.

According to officials, most of the 36 or so victims were shot but some were run over by vehicles.

Commission on Elections (Comelec) spokesperson James Jimenez withheld comment, saying Commissioner Elias Yusoph, who is from Mindanao and is more familiar with the situation, would issue a statement on Tuesday.

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo condemned the violence and ordered the Philippine National Police (PNP) to go after the perpetrators.

"The President has ordered the AFP to mobilize its forces to capture the perpetrators and recover the remaining hostages," said deputy presidential spokesman Lorelei Fajardo.

In response, PNP chief Director General Jesus Verzosa directed the formation of a joint task force between the police and the military that would conduct hot pursuit operations against the perpetrators and recover the remaining hostages.

One source in Cotabato who is familiar with Maguindanao politics said that the PNP was virtually "the security of the Ampatuans" in the province.

In an earlier interview with Radio dzBB, Brawner said the abducted victims included Mayor Mangudadatu's sisters Bai Farinah and Bai Eden Mangudadatu, the incumbent vice mayor of Mangundadatu town, also in Maguindanao province.

Toto said other abducted victims were lawyers Connie Brizuela and Cynthia Oquendo, Rasul Daud, and Faridah Sabdulah, and some 30 journalists. He said the female victims were sexually assaulted.

Heinous

"Karumdumal po talaga ang ginawa. Pinagdurog-durog ang ulo at yung mga pantalon nila binaba po, nakausli po yung mga ari ng babae (What they did was really heinous. The heads of the victims were bashed and the females stripped from the waist down)," he said.

Brawner said they were abducted by some 100 men allegedly led by Mayor Datu Unsay Ampatuan and one Police Senior Inspector Dicay of the Shariff Aguak police force.

The NUJP said the "Ampatuan massacre" went beyond the issue of freedom of the press.

"The Ampatuan massacre, which the military has confirmed was perpetrated by Shariff Aguak Mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr. and police Sr. Inspector Dicay, goes beyond the issue of freedom of the press and of expression and strikes at the very foundations of democracy," it said in a statement.

Fajardo said Malacañang is extending its sympathy to the media.

"We stand in solidarity with our friends from media and we shall provide all necessary support to assuage their fears and grief," she said.

Despite the massacre, Toto said he would continue with his plans for 2010. "Tutuloy po ako (I will push through with my plan) and no one can compel me not to run for governor." - JV, HS, GMANews.TV
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36 hostages killed in Maguindanao

(philstar.com) Updated November 23, 2009 08:34 PM

MANILA, Philippines (Xinhua) - Thirty-six persons of a group of local politicians and journalists abducted Monday in a pre- election related incidence in Maguindanao, southern Philippines have been found dead, local media reported.

According to a report of the website of the Philippine Inquirer, Jenalyn, the wife of Buluan town mayor Esmail Mangudadatu; Esmail' s sisters Eden, Rowena and Farida; his lawyers Cynthia Oquendo and Connie Brizuela; and Mr. Oquendo, the father of Cynthia, were among those who were abducted and killed.

Lt. Col. Romeo Brawner, spokesman of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, said this group was aboard three vehicles when they were intercepted by about 100 men at the village of Saniag in Ampatuan town around 10:35 a.m.

Brawner said the victims were later brought near the camp of the Tornado Command of the Moro National Liberation Front at Salman village. This is where Army's 601st Brigade recovered the bodies, along with their vehicles, at around 4:30 p.m.

"It's barbaric. The perpetrators even raped their women hostages before killing them," Esmail told local reporters.

Esmail claimed that Andal Ampatuan Sr., Maguindanao's incumbent governor and his political rival, is behind the kidnapping.

Esmail, who will run for governor of Maguindanao in next year's elections, was supposed to file certificate of candidacy at the office of Provincial Commission on Elections. But his family offered to file the certificate of candidacy on his behalf, as Esmail has been allegedly receiving death threats from his political rival.

"We thought that they (political rivals) won't kill the women, so we sent all our female relatives, including our sisters, to file for his (Esmail's) candidacy," Madasser Mangudadato, a member of the Regional Legislative Assembly of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao and Esmail's brother, said in a phone interview.

"But we made a big mistake because they (political rival) did not spare anyone," he said.
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http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=526122&publicationSubCategoryId=200

Maguindanao massacre claims at least 36 lives

AIE BALAGTAS SEE, GMANews.TV
11/23/2009 | 05:52 PM

At least 36 people, mostly identified with Buluan, Maguindanao vice mayor Datu Ismail "Toto" Mangudadatu but including some media people on Monday were abducted and later killed by gunmen allegedly led by members of the Ampatuan political clan.

Lt. Col. Romeo Brawner Jr., spokesman of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), said in a local television interview that 21 bodies - 13 female and eight male - have so far been recovered. They had been beheaded.

The 36 victims were among the more than 50 abducted by the suspects. Some of the victims were women and media men covering the filing of the COC.

"Away politika po ito dahil yung nangyari pong pagdukot sa mga kamag-anak ni (Mangudadatu) by the elements of Mayor Ampatuan, sa ngayon po tinitingnan natin itong anggulo na ito (This is politically-motivated because the hostage-taking of Mangudadatu's relatives by the elements of Mayor Ampatuan, we're looking at this angle)," Brawner said in an interview with GMA News 24Oras.

Toto's wife, Genalyn Tiamzon-Mangudadatu, was among those beheaded, according to Toto himself.

A Malacañang official immediately recommended that the entire Maguindanao province be placed under a state of emergency.

"This is a gruesome massacre of civilians unequalled in recent history. Even women and media men were not spared. There must be a total stop to this senseless violence," said presidential adviser on Mindanao affairs Jesus Dureza in a text message to reporters.

"I strongly recommend that a state of emergency be imposed in the area and that everyone be disarmed. Anything less will not work," he added.

In an interview Monday evening, Commission on Elections (Comelec) spokesperson James Jimenez said he will refrain from making any comment but expects Commissioner Elias Yusoph, who is from Mindanao and is more familiar with the situation there, to issue a statement tomorrow.

In an earlier interview with Radio dzBB, Brawner said the abducted victims included Mayor Mangudadatu's sisters Bai Farinah and Bai Eden Mangudadatu, the incumbent vice mayor of Buluan town.

Other abducted victims, according to Mangudadatu, included lawyers Connie Brizuela and Cynthia Oquendo, Rasul Daud, and Faridah Sabdulah, and some 30 journalists.

The victims were abducted about 10:30 a.m. while on their way to Maguindanao elections office to file a certificate of candidacy (COC) in behalf of Mangudadatu, who will run for governor in Maguindanao province.

Brawner said they were abducted by some 100 men allegedly led by Mayor Datu Unsay Ampatuan and one Police Senior Inspector Dicay of the Philippine National Police (PNP) in Shariff Aguak.

“I cannot give you the exact number of all the dead persons but rest assured merong namatay, meron namatay (they were killed, they were killed) and according to the information, some of them were beheaded, some of them were shot to death and some of them sinagasaan (were run over)," said Madaser Mangudadato, assemblyman in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM). - GMANews.TV
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http://www.gmanews.tv/story/177644/maguindanao-massacre-claims-at-least-36-lives

Buluan vice mayor's wife, media men beheaded

abs-cbnNEWS.com | 11/23/2009 5:10 PM

MANILA - Bodies of 21 of the 30 beheaded kidnap victims, including the wife and relatives of Buluan town's vice mayor, were recovered by government troops in Ampatuan town in Maguindanao province Monday afternoon.

AFP spokesman Lt. Col. Romeo Brawner Jr. confirmed to ANC that 13 female and 8 male bodies were found by members of the 601st Infrantry Brigade of the AFP around 4:30 p.m. Monday.

Buluan vice mayor Esmael "Toto" Mangadadatu told ANC that his wife, Genalyn, his sister, and some relatives were on their way to file a certificate of candidacy on his behalf when a group of about 100 armed men abducted them.

Mangudadatu, who is running for governor of Maguindanao, said some media men who went to cover the event were also seized.

Mangudadatu believes the abduction was politically motivated. He told ANC that he sent his wife and female relatives to file his certificate of candidacy in the hope that his political rivals would spare them.

He said his wife called him at around 9:30 in the morning to say an armed group, supposedly of the Ampatuan clan, a political rival, flagged down their convoy.

He told ANC it was the Ampatuans who beheaded his wife, his sister, relatives, supporters and other civilians, after robbing them.

The Mangundadatu clan is known to have a long-running feud with the family of Maguindanao's incumbent governor Andal Ampatuan, who police say is known to control his own private army.

Brawner said there were about 100 gunmen, most of whom were militiamen deputised as government guards by Ampatuan's family.

Brawner said the leader of the militiamen who staged the kidnapping was one of Ampatuan's sons. Ampatuan was not immediately reachable for comment.

Revenge killings and clashes among rival political families are common in Maguindanao and other parts of Mindanao island, where unlicensed firearms proliferate and parts of which are lawless.

Islamic militants on Mindanao have also been waging a separatist rebellion for decades. - with AFP
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http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/regions/11/23/09/buluan-vice-mayors-wife-media-men-beheaded

Troops foil deadly terror attack in Cotabato

(philstar.com) Updated November 16, 2009 09:01 PM

DAVAO, Philippines (Xinhua) - Philippine security forces foiled a deadly terror attack Monday in the volatile southern Philippines.

Troops have recovered and defused an improvised pipe-type bomb attached to a mobile phone which was planted by suspected Muslim separatist rebels in front of bus depot in the southern city of Cotabato at around 09:00 a.m., said city police Chief Senior Superintendent Willie Dangane.

Dangane said witnesses who saw motorcycle-riding men left a blue bag containing the bomb immediately informed police.

No one group claimed for the foiled attack but the Philippine military blamed rouge Muslim rebels in previous incidents.

In July this year, six people were killed and over 50 wounded when a homemade bomb exploded outside a Roman Catholic Church in Cotabato.
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http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=524041&publicationSubCategoryId=200

4 dead in clashes between soldiers and leftist rebels in Davao

(philstar.com) Updated November 16, 2009 08:01 PM

DAVAO, Philippines (Xinhua) - A government troop and three leftist guerrillas were killed in separate clashes over the weekend in the restive southern Philippines, a military official said on Monday.

Soldiers belonging to the Army's 103rd Division Reconnaissance Company encountered around 40 New Peoples Army on Sunday in the village of Salvacion, Mawab township in Davao del Norte province, regional military spokesperson Maj. Randolph Cabangbang told reporters.

A soldier named Private Joevert Camacho and a young guerrilla fighter were killed in the exchange of gunfire.

Lt. Jersom Butt, a commander of Special Forces, said two soldiers were also wounded.

A day before the incident, two leftist rebels died in an encounter with authorities in the nearby township of New Corella.

The NPA, the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines, has been waging a guerrilla campaign in the countryside for four decades.

Military estimates placed the NPA strength at more than 5,000 men scattered in more than 60 guerrilla fronts throughout the country.
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http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=523992&publicationSubCategoryId=200

AFP deploys 600 soldiers to pursue kidnappers

By Katherine Evangelista

INQUIRER.net

First Posted 19:16:00 11/11/2009

Filed Under: Acts of terror, Military, Security (general)

MANILA, Philippines – Some 600 soldiers are running after the group that abducted and beheaded a school principal and the kidnapping of four civilians, including two Chinese nationals, in Mindanao, a military spokesman said Wednesday.

In an interview, Armed Forces spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Romeo Brawner, Jr. said that roughly 300 soldiers from the 32nd Infantry battalion, a company of Marines and a platoon from the Special Operations Unit of the Marines are running after the kidnappers of Jerry Tan, Michael Tan, Oscar Lu, and Mark Singson.

The four were abducted by gunmen clad in military uniforms who stormed a plywood factory in Sitio (sub-village) Butong, Barangay (village) Townsite, Maluso town, Basilan Monday night.

Meanwhile, around three hundred more Marines are pursuing the perpetrators behind the abduction and beheading of school chief Gabriel Canizares whose severed head was found near a gasoline station in Jolo, Sulu, Monday morning.

Canizares, the principal of Kanagi Elementary School in Patikul, Sulu, was abducted in Jolo last October 19 by alleged members of the Abu Sayyaf bandit group.

The military suspects that the Abu Sayyaf group may also be behind the latest abduction but nevertheless, they are not discounting the possibility that other bandit groups may be involved, Brawner said.

Earlier, teachers announced the suspension of classes in public schools following the recovery of Canizares’ head, since they fear that they may be the next target of the bandit groups.

“We cannot blame them for being fearful for their lives but we are assuring our teachers that we are doing our part to ensure that they are secured,” Brawner said.

Meanwhile, Brawner urged the Department of Education and local executives of areas where there are kidnapping incidents to help calm the public amid the surge of kidnapping cases in Mindanao.
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http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/nation/view/20091111-235630/AFP-deploys-600-soldiers-to-pursue-kidnappers

Abu Sayyaf kidnaps 2 Chinese traders, 2 others

By John Unson (The Philippine Star) Updated November 11, 2009 12:00 AM

COTABATO CITY , Philippines – Gunmen in camouflage uniforms snatched four people in Maluso town in Basilan yesterday.

Police said around 20 gunmen barged into the Basilan Hi-Tech Wood Craft Industry where they forcibly took Michael Tan, Oscar Lu and a worker identified as Mark Singson.

The gunmen also took with them the security guard identified as Sakilan Lumayon, whom they disarmed before entering the compound.

Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) police spokesman Superintendent Danilo Bacas said the gunmen initially opened fire with automatic weapons, surprising Lumayon before they broke into the compound and snatched the three other victims.

“The kidnappers first fired at Lumayon before they succeeded in subduing him,” Bacas said The abduction came a day after the beheading of Gabriel Canizares, a school principal kidnapped by the Abu Sayyaf in Patikul, Sulu three weeks ago.

The kidnapping also came while authorities are still trying to resolve the abduction of Irish priest Michael Sinnott.

Although authorities suspect the Abu Sayyaf may have carried out the kidnapping, police said they are not ruling out an inside job.

Basilan provincial police director Superintendent Abu­bakar Tulawi said they received information that one of the security guards of the shop has a son who is a member of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

There had been reports that some MILF rebels carried out the snatch in an attempt to take the heat off from the rescue operations for Sinnott.

Regional military spokesman Maj. David Hontiveros, however, refused to say if the MILF or the Abu Sayyaf was behind the latest snatch. – With James Mananghaya, Roel Pareño, Edith Regalado, AP

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http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=522289&publicationSubCategoryId=63

Local Terrorists Robbed A Villager, Responding Policemen Ambushed

CAMP ELIAS ANGELES, Pili, Camarines Sur – Five members of the 509th Police Provincial Mobile Group (PPMG) were killed and two others were wounded while one rebel was killed in an ambush staged by the Local Terrorist Group (LTG) in Barangay Antipolo, Bulan, Sorsogon at around 1:30pm yesterday (November 9).

Quoting a report from the 903rd Infantry Brigade that reached 9ID Headquarters, Major Harold Cabunoc, the Division Spokesman, said that the incident was directly related to the robbery perpetrated by heavily armed CTs on the home of a certain Mr Gary Goyala, reported to be one of the employees of Congressman Jose Solis in Brgy J.P. Laurel, Bulan, Sorsogon. Responding to the urgent call by terrified neighbors, elements of 509th PPMG led by Police Inspector Jeffrey De Leon proceeded to the area on board a PNP Mobile patrol car. Unfortunately, the blocking elements of the armed robbers strategically positioned in Brgy Antipolo of the same municipality conducted a treacherous ambush using landmines and Molotov bombs.

Receiving an urgent call from heavily engaged PNP personnel, LTC SANTIAGO ENGINCO, battalion commander of the 49th Infantry Battalion, sent a platoon led by 1LT ALFIE LEE to reinforce the beleaguered police personnel. With their swift action, the Army troopers were able to repulse the attackers and killed one of the ambushers. Recovered in the scene were four M16 rifles owned by the PNP, 1 PNP mobile patrol car, unexploded ordnance/IEDs, and the 5 cadavers of PNP personnel. The Army troopers were able to rescue also two (2) wounded police officers, who were immediately rushed to nearby hospital.

The five (5) PNP personnel who were killed were identified as P/Ins Jefferson De Leon, PO1 George Jordan, SPO1 Johson Gerola, PO2 Darwin Detoito and PO1 Ryan Padrigue and the wounding of two others namely, PO1 Franz Guamos and PO1 Alain Lanuza. Initially, PO1 Jordan was reported missing but he was found later by responding Army soldiers.

The LTG activities were significantly hampered by series of setbacks from 9ID troopers. In September 25, 2009, nine (9) LTG members led by a certain Ka Ely, were killed in a daring raid conducted by the Scout Rangers from the 3rd Scout Ranger Battalion. It was followed by the capture of four (4) LTG rebels in Brgy Maalo, Juban, Sorsogon by the 11th Scout Ranger Company and the capture of another four CPP-NPA-NDF members and the recovery of 4 high-powered firearms during a raid on November 7, 2009 in Sitio Sagpang, Siuton, Magallanes, Sorsogon.

Major Cabunoc also said that the effective ISO campaign conducted by the 9ID has pressured the CPP-NPA-NDF rebels. “They are now engaged in plain banditry to sustain their operations”, he added. In a TV interview on November 9, 2009, Nilo Escullar aka “Ka Omar” has admitted that they were indeed involved in extortion activities in remote barangays. “Mga kapatid, bumaba na kayo. Walang kabuluhan itong ipinaglalaban natin!”, Escullar was quoted over ABS-CBN Bicol.
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http://pio9id.blogspot.com/2009/11/local-terrorists-robbed-villager.html

24 NPA child combatants give up armed struggle

11/09/2009 3:05 PM

DAVAO CITY - The military on Monday said 24 child combatants of the New People's Army operating in Davao region surrendered to the government last month.

Capt. Emmanuel Garcia, spokesman of the 10th Infantry Division of the Philippine Army, said five of the child warriors belonged to the NPA Front Committee 51. They surrendered to the 39th Infantry Battalion in Barangay Binaton, Digos City, Davao del Sur last October 22.

Barangay Binaton made headlines 20 years ago following the massacre of a Lumad community in Sitio Rano on June 25, 1989 allegedly perpetrated by rebels.

The former NPA child warriors said they would like to avail of the government’s Social Integration Program (SIP) being implemented by the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process now headed by Secretary Annabelle T. Abaya.

Under the program, the government extends livelihood assistance to rebels who surrendered with an outright grant of P20,000 cash each as seed money for them to start a small business of their own, Abaya said.

A rebel who surrenders an M16 assault rifle or the equivalent firepower will receive an additional P50,000, and if he qualifies to undergo a livelihood training program, he will get another P50,000 in kind such as hand tractor, working animal, a tricycle or sari-sari store.

Last October 18, a young female combatant of the NPA voluntarily surrendered to soldiers operating in Compostela Valley.

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http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/regions/11/09/09/24-npa-child-combatants-give-armed-struggle

Teacher beheaded in Philippines

updated at 05:12 GMT, Monday, 9 November 2009

Police in the southern Philippines say the severed head of a kidnapped schoolteacher has been found in a bag at a petrol station.

Gabriel Canizares was abducted by Abu Sayyaf militants three weeks ago. His body is still missing.

He was travelling with colleagues on the island of Jolo when he was seized.

The militants had demanded a ransom equivalent to $42,000 (£25,000; 28,000 euros) for Mr Canizares, which his family refused to pay.

Security fears

Education Secretary Jesli Lapus expressed shock at the teacher's killing, saying six other teachers who had been kidnapped by Abu Sayyaf earlier this year had all been released despite threats to behead them.

He said his department was at a loss as to how to ensure security for public schoolteachers in high-risk areas, and feared that the kidnappings would discourage others from teaching underprivileged youths in Muslim areas.

"We shall make them pay for the enormity of this savagery," President Gloria Arroyo's spokeswoman Lorelei Fajardo said in a statement after Mr Canizares' head was found.

She said Mrs Arroyo had ordered "punitive action" to "put an end to the Abu Sayyaf group's heinous and inhumane atrocities".

"The people of Jolo are condemning this dastardly act," Jolo municipal mayor Hussin Amin said in a television interview aired in Manila.

The beheading came three days before a visit to Manila by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, when security issues are expected to be a key topic.

Abu Sayyaf has been blamed for many of the country's worst terrorist attacks, including the firebombing of a ferry in Manila Bay that claimed more than 100 lives in 2005, and the abduction of American tourists in 2001.

A land mine explosion under a military convoy carrying American troops on 29 September killed two US Army Special Forces soldiers - the first US military deaths in the southern Philippines in seven years.

About 600 US troops are currently stationed in the south for training and humanitarian missions, but are barred by Philippine law from engaging in direct combat.

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http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8349771.stm