Out of the 12 Maguindanao Massacre perpetrators or conspirators only two are not running for any position for the upcoming May 2010. Only Datu Unsay mayor Datu Andal ‚ÄúUnsay” Ampatuan, Jr., and ARMM governor Datu Zaldy Ampatuan. The rest of the 10 suspects are running for local post as well as their wives and daughters.
Ampatuan Jr. who wants to become the governor of Maguindanao, which I assumed, carried out the massacre to assure his victory, have his wife Reshal Santiago to run for mayor of Datu Unsay.
Ampatuan Sr., who is confined in a military hospital in Davao City, is running for vice governor of Maguindanao against three opponents, including his daughter, Shaydee Ampatuan-Abutazil.
Datu Zaldy Ampatuan wife, Bai Johaira or Bongbong Midtimbang is running for mayor of Datu Hoffer town, while eldest daughter Bai Norailla Kristina, is running for councilor. Both mother and daughter are assured of victory. They are running unopposed.
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Posts Tagged ‘maguindanao massacre update’
10 of the 12 Maguindanao Massacre Suspects are running for 2010 Election
by admin, on Tue, Feb 9 2010 | No Comments
Andal Ampatuan Jr. Plead Not Guilty Again
by admin, on Wed, Feb 3 2010 | 6 Comments
The accused mastermind, Andal Ampatuan Jr., of the November 23 Maguindanao Massacre was again plead not guilty to 16 addition murder cases filed against him. Ampatuan Jr., a member of a politically powerful Muslim clan that was once allied to President Gloria Arroyo, impassively entered fresh pleas of “not guilty” as relatives of some of the dead wept outside the courtroom. Ampatuan, assisted by his lawyer Sigfrid Fortun, entered the plea during the continuation of his bail hearing at Camp Crame in the courtroom of Quezon City Judge Jocelyn Solis-Reyes.
Andal Ampatuan Jr. is accused of ordering his armed followers to kill about 57 people in the southern province of Maguindanao on November 23 last year in order to prevent a rival from running against him in May elections. The victims included Ampatuan’s rival’s wife and pregnant sister, as well as 30 journalists.
Prosecutors allege the defendant and up to 100 members of his private army stopped the convoy on a highway in Maguindanao, kidnapped the victims at gunpoint and took them to a hillside where they were shot dead.
They were then buried in mass graves, dug by a government-supplied backhoe, intended for civil works projects.
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Five More Ampatuans and 633 to face Rebellions Raps
by admin, on Wed, Dec 23 2009 | No Comments
Pres. Arroyo posed with the Ampatuan Clan
Five more members of the powerful Ampatuan family and 633 others were summoned by the Department of Justice yesterday to face the preliminary hearing on rebellion charges that stemmed from the Ampatuans suspected participation in the Maguindanao massacre last November 23.
The 5 other Ampatuans summoned by the prosecuting panel are Mamasapano town mayor Banarin Ampatuan, Rajah Buayan town mayor Yacob Ampatuan, Datu Ulo Ampatuan, Datu Ipi Ampatuan and Datu Kanor Ampatuan.
If remembered, 4 other Ampatuan including the clan patriarch Andal Ampatuan Sr. and his sons ARMM governor Zaldy Ampatuan, Sajid Islam Ampatuan and Shariff Aguak mayor Anwar Ampatuan; vice governor Akmad Tato Ampatuan and 19 others were charged for rebellion before the Cotabato regional trial court last week.
Aside from the five other Ampatuans, the Department Of Justice also subpoenaed five other local officials who are suspected to joined the rebellion. They are Sultan sa Barongis town vice mayor Sukarno Badal, Barira town mayor Alexander Tumawis, Datu Undin town mayor Ombra Sinsuat, Parang town mayor Abu Talib and provincial administrator Nurie Unas.
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Arroyo declares Martial law in Maguindanao
by admin, on Fri, Dec 4 2009 | 2 Comments
Soldiers recovered a buried arsenal of weapons outside the Ampatuan compound
In a press conference past 7 a.m, Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita announced Proclamation No. 1959 declaring a state of martial law and suspending the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus in the province of Maguindanao, except for certain areas identified as bailiwicks of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) separatists.
The declaration of martial law will lead to the arrests without warrants of other members of the Ampatuan family who have been linked to the November 23 massacre of 57 innocent civilians.
Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Chief of Staff Gen. Victor Ibrado announced that joint police and military teams have taken into custody Maguindanao Gov. Andal Ampatuan Sr. and his son, Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) Gov. Zaldy Ampatuan.
Ibrado said Ampatuan Sr. was brought to a hospital in Davao City, while the ARMM governor was brought to General Santos City. The Maguindanao Vice Governor Akmad Ampatuan Sr. and Shariff Aguak Anwar Ampatuan have also been taken into custody.
As of this posting time, there are now five Ampatuans under government custody, including Datu Unsay town Mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr., who has been charged with 25 counts of murder for the massacre.
The carnage, where 57 innocent civilians were killed, drew both local and international condemnation. It was allegedly led by Ampatuan Jr., who is detained at the National Bureau of Investigation.
Reported early Friday evening that President Arroyo had ordered a state of martial law in Maguindanao, which would take effect on Saturday.
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Witness On Maguindanao Massacre Said ‘We just followed orders’
by admin, on Thu, Nov 26 2009 | 5 Comments
A man who says he was a witness to Monday’s massacre in the southern Philippines has told Al Jazeera how he was ordered to kill members of a rival political clan – including women and children – and to make sure no evidence was left behind.
The witness, who identified himself only as “Boy”, said he was among more than 100 armed men who held up a convoy of political campaigners and journalists before taking them to a remote mountainous area where they were then killed.
Speaking to Al Jazeera’s correspondent Marga Ortigas, “Boy” said the orders had come directly from Andal Ampatuan Jr., a local mayor and a member of a politically powerful local with close ties to the Philippines president.
“Datu Andal himself said, he said to us: anyone from the Mangudadatu clan – women or children – should be killed… We don’t ask why, we just followed orders.”
At least 57 people died in the massacre, believed to be the worst ever politically-related killings in the Philippines. “Boy”, who is now in hiding fearing his life is in danger, said all of the women in the group had been raped before being killed.
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