A student holds a bunch of flowers as prayer offerings for the victims of election-related violence in Maguindanao province while shouting anti-government slogans during a protest outside Malacañan Palace in Manila, Nov. 24. President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo placed two Mindanao provinces and a city under emergency rule yesterday after at least 46 people were killed in the worst-ever election-related violence in the country. -- Reuters
"Also included are the RMG (Regional Mobile Group) members whose names came up during the initial investigation," said Mr. Dureza, who went to the area yesterday along with Interior Secretary Ronaldo V. Puno and Acting Defense Secretary Norberto B. Gonzales.
There is no word, however, if politicians from Maguindanao, including three-term Governor Datu Andal S. Ampatuan, who was identified by Buluan Vice-Mayor Datu Esmael G. Mangudadatu as principal suspect, were also placed under police custody.
Bodies recovered from the crime scene rose to 46, Lt. Col. Romeo S. Brawner, Jr., spokesman of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, said in a text message yesterday.
"For now, I could not say anything about the Ampatuans but we will make a report including the Ampatuan side," Mr. Dureza said.
Unconfirmed reports said four people escaped when the vehicle they were riding immediately stopped upon seeing more than 100 armed men blocking the path of the convoy on its way to the Commission on Elections office in Shariff Aguak town.
The four are reportedly under the custody of Mr. Mangudadatu, whose wife Jenalyn Tiamson-Mangudadatu was among those killed.
The Mangudadatus and Ampatuans were former allies but had a falling out when Esmael declared his intention to run for Maguindanao governor against the governor’s son, Datu Junsay, in next year’s general elections.
The other son, Datu Zaldy Uy Ampatuan, is governor of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.
Mr. Dureza said the Mangudadatus have assured them of leaving it all to authorities to render justice.
State of emergency
Stepping in on the issue, Mrs. Arroyo issued yesterday Proclamation 1946 which put three areas under an indefinite state of emergency. This followed a two-hour teleconference with the members of the National Security Council Cabinet cluster.
"The provinces of Maguindanao, Sultan Kudarat and the city of Cotabato are hereby placed under a state of emergency for the purpose of preventing and suppressing lawless violence in the area," the Palace directive stated.
With the PNP and Armed Forces as lead agencies, Mrs. Arroyo has ordered Mr. Gonzales, acting AFP chief Lt. Gen. Rodrigo F. Maclang, PNP chief Director-General Jesus A. Verzosa and Mr. Puno to personally oversee actions against the culprits.
The declaration was based on Mr. Dureza and the crisis team with representatives from the police, military, National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and the Commission on Human Rights, among others.
Cabinet Secretary Silvestre H. Bello III said none of the Ampatuans can be declared suspects as of yet.
"We need witnesses and evidences first," Mr. Bello told Palace reporters yesterday.
The feuding Ampatuan and Mangudadatu families are both Palace allies.
Hot pursuit
Meanwhile, the military and PNP are pursuing the culprits alongside the disarming of civilian volunteers in Maguindanao.
Lt. Col. Jonathan Ponce, spokesman of the 6th Infantry Division, told BusinessWorld the suspects are still within the hinterland of Maguindanao, adding they have deployed four Army companies and a dozen of armored cars to prevent the escalation of armed political conflict.
For his part, Mr. Brawner said in a separate interview that based on reports, civilian volunteers were seen to have joined in perpetrating the carnage of Ms. Tiamson-Mangudadatu’s group, which was en route on Monday to the poll office in Shariff Aguak to file the vice-mayor’s certificate of candidacy for governor.
"The police and the military have already taken actions in disarming these civilian volunteer organizations," Mr. Brawner said.
Mr. Brawner said military troops continue to extract more cadavers from the massacre site.
Special panel of prosecutors
In a related development, Acting Justice Secretary Agnes VST. Devanadera has formed a special panel of prosecutors to handle the Maguindanao massacre.
This is on top of an order for the NBI and the Task Force Against Extra-Judicial Killings and Political Violence (TF 211) to join in the probe, she said.
"I have ordered the creation of a panel to coordinate with the NBI to immediately conduct an investigation, and likewise ordered the prosecutors of North Cotabato to confer with the victims’ families for them to avail of the benefits under the Victims’ Compensation Program and closely coordinate with law enforcement agencies for the case buildup," she said in a text message yesterday.
In a separate memorandum, Ms. Devanadera said Senior State Prosecutor Philip I. Kimpo will lead the panel to be assisted by state prosecutors Bernardo L. Parico, Rassendell Rene F. Gingoyon, Bunrofil M. Altares, Aldrin Evangelista and Lamberto C. Fabros.
They will be joined by Maguindanao prosecutors Ramil Guiling and Akilala Balt.
"The [Justice department] shall expedite the investigation of these cases until the perpetrators thereof have been arrested and prosecuted to its successful conclusion," Ms. Devanadera said in a separate statement.
TF 211 Chairman and Justice Undersecretary Ricardo Blancaflor, for his part, said: "We will pursue these criminals at all cost, no matter what their status is in society, until justice is delivered."
Family feuds are common in some parts of Mindanao involving prominent clans, particularly disagreements over property ownership and old personal or even political disputes.
Violence only stops if both groups agree to settle their feud amicably, usually after paying each other with blood money to compensate for the loss of lives, or damage to properties and animals. -- Gerard S. dela Peña, Joel B. Escovilla in Davao City, Darwin T. Wee in Zamboanga City and Ira P. Pedrasa
Source: http://www.bworldonline.com/main/content.php?id=2118
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