Ampatuan in custody, denies link to slayings

The politician accused of masterminding an election-linked massacre that left at least 57 people dead surrendered to authorities on Thursday—but insisted he was innocent. Amid rising criticism about the perceived slow response to Monday’s slaughter in troubled southern Philippines, authorities finally took Andal Ampatuan Jr. into custody while implementing sweeping security measures.

But Ampatuan, also the mayor of Datu Unsay municipality (Maguindanao province), insisted that he did not orchestrate the horrifying killings in his home province of Maguindanao, where his family has been a dominant political force for decades.

“There is no truth to that,” he told reporters at an airport in General Santos, a major city in the South, when asked whether he was behind the murders.

It was his first public comment since the massacre and came after he peacefully surrendered at his Maguindanao mansion, from where he was flown by helicopter to General Santos en route to meet investigators in Manila.

Acting Justice Sec. Agnes Devanadera told reporters that an announcement could be expected by the weekend on whether charges would be laid against him. But later on Thursday, the department filed multiple murder charges against Mayor Ampatuan. (See related front-page story) Government officials had been negotiating since Tuesday with Ampatuan’s family for him to submit to questioning.

Ampatuan statement

A statement from Mayor Ampatuan’s brother, Undersecretary Zamzamin Ampatuan of the Department of Energy, said that their family elders convinced the mayor “to voluntarily submit to due process.”

The family also tasked the undersecretary to lead the turnover of Mayor Ampatuan to Sec. Jess Dureza, presidential adviser on Mindanao affairs. The mayor, who will be represented by lawyer Sigfred Fortun, agreed at 9 p.m. on Wednesday to the option, the statement added.

Referring to Mayor Ampatuan as “Datu Unsay,” the undersecretary said that he felt relieved about his brother’s decision. “The investigation should be pursued until the truth is cleared and justice is attained for the victims of this massacre, and Datu Unsay’s submission to due process is a key step.”

The undersecretary also suggested that a Muslim Reconciliation Commission be established to study the culture of violence that has beset Muslim communities and to seek a sustainable solution to the problem.

Maguindanao massacre

The massacre on Monday occurred after about 100 Ampatuan gunmen allegedly abducted a convoy of aides and relatives of a rival politician, Vice Mayor Ismael Mangudadatu of Buluan town (Maguindanao), plus a group of journalists.

The victims were snatched as they were traveling in a six-vehicle convoy to nominate Mangudadatu as the opposition candidate for provincial governor in next year’s national elections.

They were shot a short time later and dumped or buried in shallow graves on a remote farming road close to a town bearing the Ampatuan name.

Fifty-seven bodies have been recovered so far, nearly half of them believed to be those of reporters, making it the deadliest attack ever on journalists.

Mayor Ampatuan is the son of Maguindanao’s governor, a Muslim clan chief of the same name who until this week was a close ally of President Gloria Arroyo’s ruling coalition.

Maguindanao is part of the lawless Mindanao island, where Muslim clans rule vast areas backed by their own private armies, often out of the national government’s control.

Gov. Ampatuan had been grooming his 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.

300 arrested

Highlighting the extensive reach of the Ampatuans throughout the power structure of Maguindanao, Sec. Ronaldo Puno of the Department of the Interior and Local Government said Thursday more than 300 policemen or government militiamen there had been taken into custody.

Puno said he had also recommended to President Arroyo that all provincial officials, including Gov. Ampatuan, be suspended, and that the father be investigated for any links to the murders.

He said the national 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.

At a Malacañang press briefing also on Thursday, police officials said that more people may be arrested later—including members of the Ampatuan clan—depending on the outcome of the investigations. The authorities denied that they were having a hard time arresting members of the powerful clan.

Total police revamp

National police chief Jesus Verzosa told reporters he would ask the national government to be allowed to replace the entire police force of Maguindanao.

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 toward the mountainous area of Maguindanao,” military spokesman Lt. Col. Romeo Brawner said on ABS-CBN television.

“That is where we are conducting our pursuit operations.”

The ruling Lakas-Kampi Christian Muslim Democrats (CMD) coalition late on Wednesday expelled both Ampatuans from the party.

Mayor Ampatuan brother, Zaldy, governor of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) that includes Maguindanao, was also expelled.

Palace welcomes arrest

Also on Thursday, Malacañang welcomed the arrest of Mayor Ampatuan, saying the latest development is just the start of a long quest for justice.

“The taking in, inquest and subsequent filing of charges against Datu Unsay Ampatuan is just the beginning,” Press Sec. Cerge Remonde said in a brief statement.

“The government will be relentless in bringing to justice all responsible for the gruesome Maguindanao massacre,” he said, adding President Arroyo wants all the culprits punished without fear or favor.

In a separate statement, Lorelei Fajardo, deputy presidential spokesman, said, “In the next few days, there will be a very clear report. We’ll have a very good picture of what really happened.”
AFP, EUAN PAULO C. AÑONUEVO AND ANGELO S. SAMONTE