The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) anticipates generating more credible findings on the November 23 massacre in Maguindanao province from exhuming and re-autopsying remains of the people killed during that incident.

”We’re supporting this recommendation of our forensic expert to help better shed light on the massacre,” CHR Commissioner Jose Manuel Mamauag said.

He said CHR’s forensic expert Dr. Jose Pablo Baraybar recommended the victims’ exhumation and re-autopsy after observing some procedural lapses during original examination of their corpses.

CHR information officer Mari Cruz on Friday said the rights body’s Chairperson Leila de Lima is out of town on official business but will likely announce soon final plans on the matter.

Authorities already recovered so far 57 bullet-riddled corpses of men and women who were kidnapped while convoying to Maguindanao’s capital Shariff Aguak town then shot dead in broad daylight in Ampatuan municipality.

The victims were Butuan Vice Mayor Esmael Mangudadatu’s wife and kin, who journeyed to file his certificate of candidacy for governor of the province in 2010, and several journalists who joined their convoy to cover the event.

Witnesses implicated in this massacre the political Ampatuan clan and its alleged private army in Maguindanao, authorities also said.

With assistance from the Center for International Law Philippines, CHR brought in and deputized Baraybar and security expert Cristopher Cobb-Smith to help the agency investigate these killings.

Baraybar is Executive Director of the Peruvian Forensic Anthropology Team and is experienced in forensic investigation, having exhumed and probed mass graves in Rwanda, Bosnia and Kosovo, CHR said.

CHR also said Cobb-Smith investigated human rights violations in Israeli-occupied territories and in areas under Palestinian authorities’ control.

CHR continues investigating the Maguindanao massacre.

The agency is also collaborating with the Philippine National Police and National Bureau of Investigation, both of which are also probing this case. (PNA)
LAP/CJT/utb

Quezon City judges has favored  the holding of the Maguindanao massacre trial at the Philippine National Police (PNP) headquarters in Camp Crame, Quezon City.

The executive judges of the Quezon City Regional Trial Court (RTC)visited Camp Crame on Friday morning and checked it for the possible venue of the trial of the election-related massacre of 57 people, including 30 journalists, in Ampatuan town, Maguindanao on Nov. 23.

They found the multipurpose hall as the most convenient place to hold a trial.

Judges Fernando Sagun, Vivencio Baclig and Bernelito Fernandez conducted ocular inspection of the Police Non-Commissioned Officers hall and the Philippine National Police (PNP) Legal Service office.

Sagun said the trial of the multiple murder charges against Datu Unsay Maguindanao mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr., who has been accused of leading the massacre, must only be held in Camp Crame, the PNP’s main camp, as directed by the Supreme Court.

“The two venues met our requirements in terms of security and floor area. We will just make our recommendations to the presiding judge,” Sagun said, referring to Judge Jocelyn Solis Reyes.

The case against Ampatuan was raffled off to Reyes’ court after RTC Branch 84 Judge Luisito Cortez shunned handling the trial of Ampatuan Jr., a scion of a powerful political clan in Maguindanao, for fear of his family’s safety. (PNA)
RMA/JCA

It is unlikely that the multiple murder charges filed against Datu Unsay town mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr. and several others in connection with Nov. 23, 2009 massacre will be absorbed in the rebellion charges, an official of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) said on Tuesday.

NBI regional director Ricardo Diaz, chief of NBI Counter Terrorism Division ((CTU) and concurrent bureau spokesman, said that the rebellion and multiple murders charges were two different cases, adding that the Maguindanao massacre occurred on Nov. 23, 2009.

“The multiple murder charges occurred between 10 and 10:30 a.m. of Nov. 23 and Mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr. surrendered or arrested on Nov. 26 if I am not mistaken. This happened before the declaration of Martial Law in Maguindanao,” said Diaz.

Diaz said that the rebellion and multiple murder charges are two different cases. “There are many lawyers here in the Philippines that bring to a number of legal opinions. In my opinion as a lawyer, multiple murder charges cannot be absorbed in the rebellion charges as the declaration of Martial Law and the suspension of writ of habeas corpus happened after the murder,” said Diaz.

He also said the arrest of former Maguindanao Governor Datu Andal Ampatuan Sr. and Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) Governor Datu Zaldy “Puti” Ampatuan was valid. “We have law which is the basis of Martial Law in Maguindanao,” he said.

“Whether the Martial Law will be declared constitutional or unconstitutional by the Supreme Court (SC), it will not in any way affect the multiple murder charges which the NBI and the Philippine National Police (PNP) filed against them because these rebellion and multiple murder charges are two different cases,” Diaz said.

On Monday, the NBI filed multiple murder, robbery and damage to property against 27 personalities including former Maguindanao Governor Datu Andal Ampatuan Sr., Datu Unsay town mayor Datu Andal “Unsay” Ampatuan Jr., and Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) Governor Datu Zaldy “Puti” Ampatuan in connection with the Nov. 23 massacre in Maguindanao at the Department of Justice (DoJ).

Apart from 27 personalities who were all identified, the NBI also included about 500 John Does, who were members of the Civilian Volunteers Organizations (CVO’s), SCAA’s and police auxiliary group and private armies from the charges.

Diaz said the new affidavits and sworn statements of the 21 witnesses were also submitted by the NBI at the DOJ.

He said the documents will form part of the pieces evidence to strengthen the case against the respondents of the Nov. 23 massacre.(PNA)
RMA/JES

The Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) bares the individual participation of each of the key suspects in the Nov. 23 gruesome massacre of at least 57 civilians in Maguindanao province.

CIDG chief Director Raul Castañeda said sworn statements of PO1 Rainer Ebus, a key witness in the case, indicated the relative positions of the suspects within the crime scene before, during and after the 57 victims were gunned down.

Castañeda said investigators were now searching for a Korean-made K3 light machinegun that Ebus said was used by Datu Andal Ampatuan Jr. in shooting down the victims.

In his statement, Ebus also identified Datu Kanor Ampatuan, vice Mayor of Pagatin, Maguindanao, as among those who shot the victims along with other Civilian Volunteers Organization (CVO) members and security escorts of Ampatuans.

Ebus was assigned with the Datu Unsay police station and detailed as close-in security escort of Mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr.

In his sworn statement, Ebus identified several other personalities who were present at the checkpoint where the victims were held. They included Mamasapano Mayor Bahnarin Ampatuan, Datu Ulo Ampatuan, Datu Ipi, Datu Harris, Datu Moning and other armed CVO followers of the Ampatuans.

In his sworn statement given before CIDG investigators, Ebus narrated how he witnessed Mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr. butt stroked members of the Mangudadatu family and some members of media who were stopped at a checkpoint in Ampatuan town on that fateful day of Nov. 23, moments before the victims were driven to the hills in Barangay Salman where they were gunned down.

Ebus narrated in detail the circumstances surrounding the massacre and how the victims were made to line-up up and shot with a light machinegun by Datu Andal Ampatuan Jr.

He said that Mayor Ampatuan used a Baby Armalite, with M203 attached on it, in shooting the people in the convoy of Mangudadatu family. Ang when it malfunctioned, he replaced it with a K3.

Ebus said other victims, who attempted to run away were shot by the CVOs of Mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr. while some female members of the Mangudadatu family were shot at close range inside their vehicles.

Ebus said that after the shooting, he saw Mayor Andal Jr. left the massacre scene. That was when the backhoe arrived. He said Datu Kanor was left at the scene giving instructions to the operator of the heavy equipment.

Later in the afternoon, they regrouped with Datu Unsay Municipal Police officer-in-charge, PO1 Abbey Guiadem and Mayor Andal Jr. in the hills of Shariff Aguak where they received instructions from the mayor .

From Nov. 24 to 26, Ebus said he just stayed in his barracks at the residence of Mayor Ampatuan Jr. in Shariff Aguak.

Castañeda said a total of 187 suspects have been identified as involved in the massacre, 25 of whom are under custody.

In other developments, forensic investigators have identified another possible murder weapon used to kill 57 victims in the massacre.

A Colt M16 rifle with defaced serial number tested positive in ballistics comparison test conducted by the PNP Crime Laboratory.

Citing reports from the Regional Crime Laboratory Office 12 in Central Mindanao, Sr. Supt. Bienvenido Latag, Officer in Charge of the Police Regional Office in ARMM, said the murder weapon was among 17 firearms recovered by security forces during a search pn Dec. 7 at the back of the Ampatuan Municipal Hall in Maguindanao.

Three spent cartridges of 5.56mm ammunition recovered from the crime scene were confirmed by laboratory tests as having been fired from the recovered M16 rifle.

Follow-up operations are now underway to identify to whom the gun belongs and how it ended up in the weapons stockpile discovered by security forces at the back of the Ampatuan town hall.(PNA)
RMA/MM

The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) has filed before the Department of Justice (DOJ) charges of multiple murder, robbery and damage to property against more than 500 people, including 27 identified personalities, for their alleged involvement in the Nov. 23 Maguindanao massacre.

The NBI included former Maguindanao Governor Datu Andal Ampatuan Sr., Datu Unsay town mayor Datu Andal “Unsay” Ampatuan Jr., and Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) Governor Datu Zaldy “Puti” Ampatuan in the list of identified prime suspects.

The NBI also included in the charge sheet about unidentified 500 members of the Civilian Volunteers Organizations (CVO’s), police auxiliary group and private armies, all taking orders from the Ampatuans.

NBI regional director Ricardo Diaz, chief of the Counter Terrorism Division (CTU) and concurrent bureau spokesman, said the new affidavits and sworn statements of the 21 witnesses were also submitted by the NBI at the DOJ.

“The documents will form part of the pieces evidence to strengthen the case against the respondents of the Nov. 23 massacre,” said Diaz.

The 27 identified suspects included Datu Saudi Ampatuan Jr., municipal mayor of Datu Saudi Ampatuan; Datu Kanor Ampatuan, vice mayor of Salibo, Maguindanao; Datu Anwar Ampatuan, Datu Sajid Ampatuan; Datu Mama Ampatuan, Datu Banjarin Ampatuan, vice mayor of Mamasapano, Maguindanao; Sukarno Badal, vice mayor of Sultan Sabarongis, Maguindanao; Datu Ulo, grandson of Datu Andal Ampatuan Sr.;

Jimmy Ampatuan, barangay captain of Barangay Imbonal; Kagi Faizal, barangay captain of Mamasapano, Maguindanao; Mogira Hadji Angulat of Brgy. Imburnal; Jun Pendatun, certain Paizal, certain Aratok, certain Arnold, certain “Bong” who can be identified with his radio call sign 1-3 of the CVO, certain Alex, a cashier of Petron gasoline station owned by Datu Unsay Ampatuan Jr., certain COS, barangay captain of Barangay Kakal;

Hamid Delayudin, backhoe operator of the Maguindanao Provincial Engineering Office; Pedro Fudolig, Prime mover operator, also of the Provincial Engineering Office; Parizo Zangkala Gogo;

Police Chief Inspector Zukarno Dicay, deputy provincial director of PNP, Maguindanao and unknown number of policemen under his command; Police Chief Inspector Saudi Mukamad, commander 1507th, Regional Mobile Group and about 30 John Does who were policemen under his command and Police Inspector Rex Ariel Diogon, commander 1508th Provincial Mobile Group, PNP, Camp Datu Aklan, Sharif Aguak, Maguindanao and about 30 John Does who were policemen under their command.

Buluan Vice Mayor Datu Esmael “Toto” G. Mangudadatu was among the 21 witnesses whose affidavits and sworn statements were submitted to DOJ.

Mangudadatu’s wife Genalin was among those 57 victims of the massacre in Ampatuan, Maguindanao.

“Three of them are the eye witnesses, some are military men assigned in the area and the others are relatives of the slain victims,” said Diaz.

“This a supplemental affidavit and it is up to the DOJ to consolidate this with the charges filed by the PNP,” said Diaz.

Mangudadatu, according to his statement, sent his wife Bai Genalin accompanied by his sisters Bai Eden and Bai Farina, his aunt Bai Rowena, all Mangudadatus and his lawyers Cynthia Oquendo-Ayon and Connie Brizuela, a number of relatives and several media people to file his certificate of candidaday (CoC) for governor of Maguindanao in the coming elections.

He said before their departure, he called up Col. Medardo Gueslani for several times, requesting security escorts and explained that there was information of possible ambush and the steaming political atmosphere in the province. His request was denied.

He also called up Supt. Faizal Ampao Umpa, Regional Director-PNP of the ARMM but his request was also denied.

Later, Mangudadatu was informed that his wife, sisters, relatives and even the media men and travelers were abducted and massacred.

The NBI document revealed that the eye witnesses said upon the order of Datu Unsay (Andal), all vehicles with their captives went to the hilly portion of Sitio Masalay of Barangay Salman, Ampatuan, followed by the armed men.

Upon reaching the said place, Datu Unsay (Andal) alighted and ordered his men to gather all the passengers in one location which the armed men did in the place where Datu Unsay (Andal) wanted to be placed, except several women who were transferred in one vehicle, according to NBI document.

As the victims were herded in one place, Datu Unsay (Andal) positioned himself at a distance of two meters with his high powered firearms aimed at the victims, then started shooting the victims as soon as they were brought in front of him some were already on their knees, crying and shouting for mercy.

In fact, one media man known to Datu Unsay (Andal) who fondly called him as “Pal-Ak” pleaded for his life but still shot him to death.

Datu Unsay, while shooting at these people, was laughing at the top of his voice as if he was enjoying so much with what he was doing.

Datu Kanor, Datu Banarin Ampatuan, Parido Zangkala Gogo and Datu Mama Ampatuan, arrive at the scene and joined Datu Unsay in shooting the victims.

The witness said he saw Sukarno Bada fired at the passengers of the vehicle who refused to go down.

After the shooting, Datu Unsay ordered the witness to return to Malating with instruction not to tell the people and that he had seen nothing.

On his way back to Malating on board the police car and at distance of about one kilometer away, the witness said he had heard several gun shots and saw a backhoe coming the area.

Kenny Dalandag, in his affidavit, said that on Nov. 22, 2009, they were told to pack up for an important mission. He was carrying an Armalite rifle and they went to the house of Datu Andal Ampatuan Sr. in Barangay Bagong, Sharif Aguak. The house is surrounded by concrete high walls with a large compound inside filled with more than 100 armed men wearing fatigue uniforms and carrying high powered firearms.

Inside the compound, he saw Ampatuan Sr. having a meeting with some of his sons and others.

Ampatuan Sr. was heard as saying in his local dialect as translated in Tagalog: “Kung dumaan ang mga Mangudadatu, ubusin silang lahat, pati mga bata, wala itirang buhay kahit isa. If Mangudadatu will pass by, kill them all, including the children. Spare no one).(PNA)
RMA/JES

The Philippine National Police (PNP) has identified 161 suspects in the gruesome massacre of at least 57 people, including media practitioners, in Maguindanao province last November 23.

”We have already identified 161, their pictures now posted on the walls. Don’t mistake them as all members of the AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines) and PNP because they are in fatigue uniforms,” said PNP chief Director General Jesus Verzosa in Camp Crame.

”These uniforms they are using while giving security and being used as private armed groups to the municipalities Datu Unsay and Sahriff Aguak,” added Verzosa.

Verzosa said that the PNP-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) is working 24 hours everyday to strengthen the case against the suspects and eventually arrest those who remained at large.

”We are now conducting continuing operations for the arrest of these suspects. Some of them are already arrested and we will be recommending a reward for any information that will lead to the arrest of these persons,” said Verzosa.

Verzosa cited the recovery of armored vehicles from a warehouse in Shariff Aguak last Sunday that bore markings similar to the description made by witnesses.

Verzosa also cited reports that some of the armed followers of the Ampatuan clan have already linked up with rebel groups in the area, apparently to evade pursuing government forces.

”Reportedly, some of them already joined the rebellious forces that are now conducting rebellion in Maguindanao,” said Verzosa.

”We will exhaust all our resources so that all perpetrators will be brought to justice,” said Verzosa.

Earlier reports showed that armed followers of the Ampatuans, numbering at more than 2,000, have started massing up in some areas in the troubled province after the successive arrest of members of the powerful clan, including the patriarch Maguindanao Gov. Andal Ampatuan Sr. in connection to the gruesome massacre of 57 people last November 23.

Datu Unsay town Mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr. was tagged as the principal suspect in the massacre after several witnesses allegedly pointed to him as the leader of the more or less 100 armed men who abducted the group of rival Mangudadatu clan and more than 20 media practitioners. (PNA)V3/MM

While stressing that it has strong case against the perpetrators of the Maguindanao massacre, the police Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) has expressed the need for additional witnesses.

”We still need additional witnesses. It would be better for the case to have more witnesses especially in the murder case,” said CIDG chief Director Raul Castaneda.

But he maintained “we have a strong case as of this moment.”

Already, the CIDG has filed charges against several suspects, including Datu Unsay town Mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr., who was tagged as the principal suspect in the gruesome massacre of at least 57 civilians and media practitioners in Ampatuan town last November 23.

Deputy Director General Jefferson Soriano, chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP) Directorate for Investigation and Detective Management (DIDM), echoed Castaneda’s statements.

”In so far as the murder case is concerned, the PNP is very confident that evidence on hand is sufficient to prosecute the respondents,” said Soriano but maintained that investigations are still continuing to further strengthen the case.

”We are not closing the case as the days go by, pieces of evidence are coming in and we are adding them. And while testimonies of the witnesses are pouring, respondents are also increasing,” said Soriano.

Already, the PNP has identified 161 suspects in the gruesome massacre, including members of the powerful Ampatuan clan. (PNA)V3/MM

The Department of Justice (DOJ) has assured that rebellion charges against prominent members of the Ampatuan family will be filed.

Former Maguindanao Governor Andal Ampatuan, Sr. and Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) Governor Zaldy Ampatuan and 22 others were earlier placed under inquest proceedings for the rebellion charges.

However, the case was not filed on Tuesday before the Cotabato City Regional Trial Court (RTC) since it was a holiday in the city as it observed the Feast of the Immaculate Conception.

Justice Undersecretary Ricardo Blancaflor assured the witnesses that the case being pursued by the government prosecutors would not be dismissed for technicality.

Blancaflor said that even if the rebellion case was not filed in court on Tuesday, it was still within the three-day period within which the suspects should be judicially charged.

Article 7, Section 18, paragraph 6 of the 1987 Constitution provides that “during the suspension of the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus, any person thus arrested or detained shall be judicially charged within three days, otherwise he shall be released.”

According to Senior State Prosecutor Leo Dacera III, the inability to file the rebellion charges was due to the fact that it was a holiday in Cotabato City.

Dacera is the over-all head of the panel of prosecutors tasked to pursue the cases against the suspects in the Maguindanao massacre.

The Ampatuans are also suspects in the gruesome killings of 57 civilians, including 15 women and 30 media practitioners in Ampatuan town, Maguindanao last Nov. 23.

However, Dacera said, they have three options to choose from in order that the prosecutors would not exceed the three-day deadline set by law within which to file the rebellion charges against the Ampatuans following the declaration of Martial Law in Maguindanao.

Martial Law was declared in Maguindanao on Dec. 4, 2009 to quell the looming rebellion in the province.

Nonetheless, Dacera refused to divulge those three options they have.

According to Dacera, 24 individuals were placed under inquest proceedings, who were earlier charged with rebellion by the Philippine National Police-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (PNP-CIDG) before the DOJ.

Those who were placed under inquest proceedings were former Maguindanao Governor Andal Ampatuan, Sr.; Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) Governor Zaldy Ampatuan; Sajid Ampatuan; Akmad Ampatuan; Anwar Ampatuan; and 19 other individuals. (PNA)
RMA/PTR

The Supreme Court (SC) has allowed the Department of Justice (DOJ) to transfer the venue of the multiple murder charges filed against Datu Unsay, Maguindanao Mayor Andal Ampatuan, Jr. from the Cotabato City Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 15 to the Quezon City RTC.

Justice Secretary and concurrent Solicitor General Agnes Devanaderas sought the transfer of the venue of the trial for security reasons and fear of the witnesses to testify in Cotabato City.

Mayor Ampatuan is the prime suspect in the gruesome killings of 57 civilians, including 15 women and 30 media practitioners in Ampatuan town, Maguindanao on Nov. 23.

According to Acting SC spokesperson Atty. Gleo Guerra, the SC justices in an en banc session on Thursday ordered Quezon City RTC executive judge Ofelia Marquez to raffle off the murder case to determine which court branch would try the case upon receiving the records from the Cotabato City RTC.

Initially, Guerra said, 20 counts of murder charges were filed by the DOJ before the Cotabato City RTC against Ampatuan Jr. in connection with the Maguindanao massacre.

Guerra clarified, however, that the venue of the trial should be held in Camp Crame, Quezon City due to security concerns and the number of witnesses who would testify.

The jurisdiction to hear the case, she said, should be held in the Quezon City RTC. (PNA)
RMA/PTR

Cotabato Archbishop Orlando Quevedo, in statement meant as a pastoral guideline last Sunday, accepted martial law in Maguindanao as a “last resort” to expedite the resolution of peace and order in the Muslim-dominated province.

Archbishop Quevedo stressed, however, that “it must immediately cease” once it is no longer necessary, as martial law would endanger human rights.

In his December 6 statement to the Catholic faithful, Quevedo said “martial law, as a last resort, may be necessary only for the decisive resolution of the problems in Maguindanao.”

“I do not know if all other recourse to resolve the above situation, particularly the appalling and most dreadful crime of November 23 that cries out to heaven, would be adequate,” the archbishop said.

The Archbishop observed that even a “state of emergency” did not seem adequate to cope with the situation.”

“Media and politicians from far away Manila do not seem to be familiar with these social, political, and cultural situations in Maguindanao. They seem to think that the police and the military can easily go into an area and just arrest the suspected culprits,” Quevedo said.

“The complexity and the abnormality of the situation and the need for swift justice for 57 brutally massacred innocent civilians would dictate an extraordinary measure.” he said.

“Since martial law has been declared. Let it be. I let the lawyers debate it. I pray that martial law resolve the abnormal situation and deal swift justice for the victims,” he said.

“Once it (martial law) is no longer necessary, it must immediately cease. The shorter the time, the better. This is because of the double-edge nature of martial law. The longer it is exercised, the more likely it would be for human rights to be violated and for weapons to be used for evil,” the archbishop said.

Quevedo served as president of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) president from 1999 to 2003 and as Secretary-General for the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences (FABC).

Quevedo observed the proliferation of firearms, legal and illegal, throughout the province which are not only in the hands of so-called warlords, civilian volunteer organizations and police.

“Liquidations by motorcycle-riding men, kidnapping by armed groups, despite deterrence provided by the army’s Operation Tugis, still occasionally take place. Rido between some MILF commanders and the Ampatuan clan has been going on since Datu Saudi Ampatuan, the young enlightened mayor of Datu Piang, was killed some years ago. This cycle of violence has affected the peace process in that area and its surrounding municipalities.” he said.

“Guns seem to be everywhere. The functioning of courts of justice and of election bodies have been highly suspect for a long time partly due to the political allegiances of court officers. Competence, transparency, and accountability in political governance in many places have to be significantly improved.”

Other Mindanao-based church leaders voiced their support to the decision to impose martial law.

Cotabato Auxiliary Bishop Jose Colin Bagaforo was quoted as saying he was agreeable to the declaration of martial law as long as it is in accord with the Constitution.

Bagaforo explained that “the elements of general public safety and imminent danger to lives are there along with terrorism.”

“Civilian governance is almost unreliable at present for justice to prevail,” he was quoted as saying.

Earlier, Caloocan Bishop Deogracias Iniguez said there is a need for an appropriate response to the Maguindanao situation but added that people should observe whether martial law would be used to restore peace.(PNA)
V3/rudyma