Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo delares State of Emergency in two provinces and one city in Mindanao. Under Proclamation Act No. 1946, the government directed the military forces in Sultan Kudarat, Maguindanao, and Cotabato City after the gruesome massacre of 50 people including journalists and politicians. President Arroyo authorized the military to undertake such measures as maybe allowed by the Constitution and by law to prevent and suppress all incidents of lawless violence in the said areas. The government is expecting that the military will be able to arrest the murderers and those people involved in this barbaric killing in the next 24 hours.
Press Secretary Cerge Remonde assured that the investigation would be transparent and impartial and added to that the government would prosecute the perpetrators regardless of power and influence. The Presidential adviser on Mindanao affairs named Jesus Dureza was assigned as head of the crisis committee.
According to the national police chief spokesman Chief Superintendent Leonardo Espina, the deputy police chief of Maguindanao province, Chief Inspector Sukarno Dicay was implicated in this incident because witnesses spotted him among the 100 armed men at the crime scene together with the Civilian Armed Forces Geographical Unit (CAFGU) at Sitio Masalay, Brgy Salman in Ampatuan at nine in the morning. Dicay was sacked and detained but Director General and Chief of Philippine National Police (PNP) Jesus Versoza relieved him and the CAFGUs names today.
The said massacre is the result of a political clan war and not the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and Abu Sayyaf rising insurrection. Buluan, Maguindanao Vice Mayor Ismael “Toto” Mangudadatu is running for governor of Maguindanao. He said that his wife, Jenalyn, and his two sisters were on their way to file a certificate of candidacy on his behalf when a group of about 100 armed men abducted them. It was also reported that 15 media men who went to cover the event were also killed mercilessly and their bodies were found in Ampatuan town in Maguindanao province. According to reports, some of them are said to be beheaded and raped by these armed men.
The suspicion has fallen on the Ampatuan clan. Remonde cleared the controversies and said that the Ampatuan clan and Mangudadatu clan are both allies of the administration. Mangudadatu strongly believed that the abduction was politically motivated. He said that he was warned that he will be hurt if he will continue to file his candidacy . So he sent his wife and his female relatives in the hope that their political rivals would not harm them. But he was wrong.
Mangudadatu enumerated the victims including his wife Jenalyn Tiamson-Mangudadatu, Vice Mayor of Mangudadatu municipality and his sister Eden Mangudadatu, his aunts Mamutabay Mangudadatu and Faridah Sabdullah, his cousins Pinky Balayman, Ella Balayman, Zorayda Bernan, Rayda Sapalon Abdul, Rowena Mangudadatu, Farina Mangudadatu, Rahima Pyuto-Palawan, Atty Connie Brizuela, Wahida Ali Kalim, Atty Cynthia Oquendo and father Mr. Oquendo, his business supervisor Miriam Kalimbol, and the drivers Chito, Razul Daud, Eugene Demillo, Abdullah Haji Dolong, Civic Edsa, Patrick Pamansang, and Unto. The journalists involved in this tragedy are Dadiangas Times reporter Ian Subang, Henry Araneta of DZRH, Leah Dalmacio, Today’s Marites Cablitas and Gina dela Cruz, Neneng Montaño, Bong Reblando of Manila Bulletin, Andy Teodoro of Mindanao Inquirer, and UNTV media Macmac Ariola, Jimmy Cabillo, Joy Duhay and Victor Nuñez.
There are many other civilians who joined the family where most of the remains were hastily buried.
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this is too much!.. give justice to those who murdered..
i know there is some hidden agenda to all of this issues..i do believe that its gma’s plot to remain in power..its funny that people around the phillipines huddles in the idea that only ampatuan is the killer..they dont know what is the heart of everything…its not new to me this kind of tactics..philippines is so corrupt..i am sad about it..i also believe that by may martial law is in the entire philippines
What now for the Philippines? Sadly, this is the other extreme to our culture of power and politics. How can society allow people to have this much influence on them? To the point of committing atrocities like this. Even this incident will be used by some selfish politician for political gains.