Philippine Massacre Suspect Seeks Supreme Court's Aid Against 'Warrantless Arrests'

December 1, 2009 1:34 p.m. EST

Manila, Philippines (AHN) - The family of Datu Unsay Mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr., believed to be the mastermind of the executions of 57 people last week, is seeking the protection of the Supreme Court against law enforcement authorities who want them for questioning. The Justice Department, which filed 25 counts of murder against Ampatuan on Tuesday, has said eight other members of the mayor's powerful clan are suspects.

The petition filed by the mayor's family on Tuesday seeks a restraining order against the Justice Department and other agencies from making "warrantless arrests." It argues that a preliminary investigation needs to be conducted before they were arrested.

The brief was filed by the mayor's father, Maguindanao Provincial Gov. Andal Ampatuan Sr., his brother, Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao Regional Gov. Zaldy Ampatuan, and relatives Saudi Ampatuan, Jr., Bahnarin Ampatuan and Islam Akmad. All of the petitioners have been implicated in the gruesome deaths of members of a rival clan, the Mangudadatus, and two dozen journalists.

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

Ampatuan is currently detained at the National Bureau of Investigation in Manila. His family members are currently at home in Sharrif Aguak, Maguindanao, barred by soldiers from leaving the residence. None of them have been arrested, and the military early this week assigned soldiers to guard each of the warring clans to prevent any escalation of violence resulting from retaliation.

The same day as the petition against "warrantless arrests," Devanadera asked the Supreme Court to transfer the charges against Ampatuan to Manila because witnesses were afraid to testify if the trial were held in Cotabato City, which is also in Mindanao.

The Justice Department earlier in the day filed 25 counts of murder against Ampatuan before the Cotabato City Regional Trial Court Branch 15. "We only filed 25 because at the time of the inquest proceedings in Gen. Santos City, those were the only available medical records of the victims," a government prosecutor, Edilberto Jamora, told reporters.

Prosecutors have at least 17 witnesses, including men who had worked for the Ampatuan clan, pointing to the mayor as the mastermind of the massacre. A backhoe with the name of Ampatuan's father on it, indicating it as the property of the Maguindanao government, was also found parked near where the bodies were recovered.

Police said on Monday that the backhoe was used to dig graves at the massacre site on three occasions, on Nov. 18, Nov. 22 and Nov. 23, the day of the murders. One of the three operators of the machine, an employee of the provincial government's engineering office, has been taken into custody.

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

According to authorities, the wife of Buluan Vice Mayor Ismael Toto Mangudadatu was on her way last 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.

The convoy of six vehicles carrying Mangudadatu's wife, two lawyers, security personnel and 30 journalists is believed to have been ambushed by about 100 armed men. The victims brought to an area 10 kilometers from the national highway in Barangay Malating, killed and buried in pre-dug graves.

Authorities ended the search for more victims last week. Some of the 57 bodies they found were buried together with the vehicles, while others had hack marks. The women showed signs of having been raped.

The victims include 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 last week.

A pregnant woman is also said to be one of the victims. Several bodies remain unidentified and some people who are believed to have been part of the convoy are reportedly still missing.

Among the journalists in the convoy, 24 have been found dead, according to the Justice Department. A small group of journalists survived the tragedy because they separated from the convoy and made a stop at a gas station.

Despite losing his wife, two sisters and other family members, Mangudadatu filed his election papers last week. He is running for governor under the Lakas-Kampi-Christian Muslim Democrats, the ruling coalition and the same party that ousted the Ampatuans because of the massacre.

The administration of President Gloria Macapaga Arroyo has assured "forceful" and "relentless" action against the perpetrators, but has failed to silence local and foreign critics who point out that it took three days before Ampatuan was taken into custody despite evidence, such as witness accounts and the backhoe,  linking his family to the executions. The administration had also called Ampatuan's arrest as a "turn over," and pointed out in a news release that he "was not handcuffed when he was taken to National Bureau of Investigation."

Part of a region that has seen centuries of strife between Muslims and Christians, Maguindanao is a province shaped by the rivalry of political clans. The power of the families includes control of the local police force, all of whom in the town of Ampatuan are now under investigation. Officials have fired several police chiefs and plan to charge four police officers for participating in the murders.