Eight Other Members Of Mayor's Clan Suspects In Philippine Election Massacre

November 27, 2009 9:42 a.m. EST

Manila, Philippines (AHN) - Authorities are looking to arrest eight other family members of Datu Unsay Mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr., the alleged mastermind in the execution of 57 people in southern Philippines this week, who are suspects in the massacre. The eight include the mayor's father, clan patriarch and Maguindanao Provincial Gov. Andal Ampatuan Sr., and his brother, Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao Regional Gov. Zaldy Ampatuan.

Fifty-seven bodies have been found in graves near Barangay Salman, in a town called Ampatuan. The victims include members of a rival clan, the Mangudadatus, two lawyers, two dozen journalists, and city government officials who happened to be at the same place at the time of the killings, the deadliest election-related violence in the Philippines and the worst attack against journalists in recent memory.

Ampatuan is currently detained at the National Bureau of Investigation in Manila, and will be indicted on Tuesday on seven counts of murder. According to the Justice Department, the charges against him are based on autopsy reports and statements from 17 witnesses, including some who worked for his family.

The complaint against the mayor will be filed in Cotabato in the southern region of Mindanao, but the Justice Department has requested that his case be moved to Manila to prevent any escalation of violence. Other charges against him may be added as the investigation continues.

The eight relatives of Ampatuan implicated in the crime have been placed in the Immigration Department's watch list to prevent them from fleeing abroad.

"They can be considered suspects already because of the statements of witnesses," Justice Secretary Agnes Devanadera said on Thursday. "It is now up to law enforcement authorities to arrest them since they are still in hot pursuit operations."

Ampatuan has accused the Moro Islamic Liberation Front of the killings. But the Moro Islamic Liberation Front has called his allegation "absurd."

The wife of Buluan Vice Mayor Ismael Toto Mangudadatu was on her way on Monday to file her husband's candidacy papers for governor, a campaign that would have pitted the vice mayor against Ampatuan, who was seeking to succeed his father as governor in next year's elections.

Mangudadatu had sent his wife and other female members of his clan to file his election papers with the belief that his rival would not attack the women.

According to authorities, the convoy of six vehicles carrying Mangudadatu's wife, two lawyers, security personnel and 30 journalists was ambushed by about 100 armed men, who killed the victims in an area 10 kilometers from the national highway in Barangay Malating. Fifty-seven bodies have been found so far, some buried together with the vehicles, others with hack marks, and women with signs of having been raped.

The victims include a pregnant woman, and several local officials who were not part of the convoy. Employees of the city government of Tacurong and the local National Economic Development Authority office who "happened to be there [at the highway]" were killed, Senior Supt. Willie Dangane said on Tuesday.

A backhoe with markings indicating it as the property of the Maguindanao provincial government and Ampatuan's father, the governor, was found parked near where the bodies were recovered. Officials say the machine may have been used by the suspects to dig the graves.

Several bodies remain unidentified and some people who are believed to have been part of the convoy are reportedly still missing.

Among the 30 journalists in the convoy, 24 have been found dead, Devanadera said on Wednesday. A small group of journalists survived the tragedy because they separated from the convoy and made a stop at a gas station.

The Army has taken control of the Maguindanao provincial capitoland the local government in the towns of Ampatuan and Shariff Aguak. The National Police has also put the entire police force in Ampatuan town under investigation, and four will be charged for allegedly participating in the executions. Several police chiefs have been relieved of duty, including those in Ampatuan and the regional director in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

Earlier, the government declared a state of emergency in Maguindanao, as well as in Cotabato City and Sultan Kudarat. All civilian Army volunteers, called CAFGUs, have also been disarmed.

The international community has condemned the killings and urged President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to act aggressively to bring justice to the victims.

United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, in a statement, called the tragedy a "brutal killing" and asked the government that "no effort be spared to bring justice and to hold the perpetrators accountable."