Philippine prosecutors say suspect in massacre who turned himself in will face murder charges

Philippines prepares to charge suspect in massacre

AMPATUAN, Philippines — Under threat of military attack, the scion of the clan suspected in the slaughter of 57 people in the southern Philippines turned himself, and prosecutors say he will face murder charges in the country’s worst election violence.

Andal Ampatuan Jr., a town mayor, maintained Thursday he had nothing to do with the ambush of a convoy carrying his political rival’s family, supporters and at least 22 journalists.

Their bodies — mowed down by point-blank shots Monday and some hacked up — were found in mass graves hastily dug by a backhoe. Some were buried with their vehicles.

The baby-faced 41-year-old is heir to the Ampatuan kingdom: impoverished, rural and lawless Maguindanao province, where they have ruled for years with a reputation for ruthlessness that led few to dare to challenge them. Hundreds of pro-government militiamen in their employ have been disarmed since the massacre.

Ismael Mangudadatu, vice mayor of Buluan township, did the unthinkable when he decided to file his candidacy for governorship in May 2010 elections. Having received death threats, he sent his wife, sisters and other female relatives to submit his papers, hoping that women would be spared the kind of violence that regularly reigns in the region.

Asked by reporters if he was involved in the killings, Ampatuan, who tried to hide his face with a scarf as he was ferried from his home province, replied: “There is no truth to that. The reason I came out is to prove that I am not hiding and that I am not guilty.”

Later, after he was brought to Manila, Ampatuan said a commander of a large Muslim separatist group was behind the massacre. Eid Kabalu, spokesman for the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, which is engaged in peace talks with the government, said the guerrillas had nothing to do with the killings.

Ampatuan gave himself up Thursday to presidential adviser Jesus Dureza in the provincial capital of Shariff Aguak, following days of negotiations and hours after troops and police sent in tanks, trucks and armored carriers around administrative buildings. Interior Secretary Ronaldo Puno had threatened to attack the family compound unless they turned over Ampatuan by midday Thursday.

At an airport building where he was initially questioned, Ampatuan was confronted by an enraged Mangudadatu. Relatives and officials had to step in to restrain them.

“When I saw him, I wanted to chew him up, spit him out and stomp on him,” Mangudadatu told reporters later.

As a helicopter carrying Ampatuan took off from Shariff Agusan, shots rang out but the aircraft was not hit, Ferrer said. It wasn’t clear who fired them.

Chief State Prosecutor Jovencito Zuno said he has instructed his staff to work overnight to prepare charges against Ampatuan. He is the only suspect named by police so far.

Zuno said he expects Ampatuan, who was brought to Manila, to be charged with multiple counts of murder Friday in southern Cotabato city, which is closest to the massacre site. The trial will take place in the capital for security reasons.

The Ampatuan clan helped President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and her allies win the 2004 presidential and 2007 senatorial elections by delivering crucial votes.

After the massacre, Arroyo’s ruling party expelled Ampatuan, his father and a brother.

Apart from Ampatuan, national police director Jesus Verzosa said six senior officers, including the provincial police chief and his deputy, 20 members of Ampatuan township’s police station and nearly 400 militiamen were in custody, but not all were considered suspects.

The area around the provincial capital was tense and a highway dotted with military checkpoints was deserted after troops disarmed nearly 400 pro-government 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.

“There’s been a total misuse of our law enforcement personnel in the area, and complicity by law enforcement officers in this crime,” Puno said. Those police officers “forgot that they should defend the Republic of the Philippines, not their Godfather.”

Puno said there were witnesses to the massacre but refused to provide details. Mangudadatu said earlier four witnesses under his protection told him they saw Ampatuan flagging down the caravan. The four were able to turn back unnoticed, Mangudadatu told The Associated Press.

Mangudadatu said one witness “saw the gunmen stop the convoy and saw Andal Ampatuan slap my wife.”

Not all of the 57 victims were part of the convoy. Police officer Felicisimo Khu, who was supervising the retrieval of bodies on a grassy hilltop in Ampatuan township, said the gunmen intercepted two other vehicles with six people who happened to be traveling on the same road at the same time — and killed and buried them too.

Arroyo vowed justice for the victims.

But with only seven months left in office before she steps down after nine years, few think she will be able to restore the rule of law in the chronically restive region that has been outside the central government’s reach for generations. Maguindanao’s acting governor is Sajid Ampatuan, another son of former Gov. Andal Ampatuan Sr., the clan’s patriarch.

At least 22 journalists working for newspapers and TV and radio stations in the southern Mindanao Island region were among the dead — the most reporters killed in a single attack anywhere in the world, according to media groups.

The most senior reporter in the group was Alejandro “Bong” Reblando, 53, a former Associated Press stringer.

Associated Press writers Oliver Teves, Teresa Cerojano and Hrvoje Hranjski in Manila contributed to this report.