Mayor named as the Philippine massacre suspect
- Source: Global Times
- [16:17 November 25 2009]
- Comments
Philippine police Wednesday named Andal Ampatuan Jr., the mayor of Datu Unsay, a municipality in the southern province of Maguindanao as the top suspect of Monday's massacre, in which 52 people were killed, including at least 23 journalists.
"According to the initial reports, those who were abducted and murdered… were initially stopped by a group led by the mayor of Datu Unsay," said Leonardo Espina, the chief superintendent of the Philippine National Police, according to the ABS-CBN News, the largest media network in the Philippines.
Espina said investigators need to speak with witnesses before they can secure a court order to arrest the suspects. He didn't indicate whether an arrest is imminent.
Ampatuan Jr is running for the governorship of Maguindanao Province in the May 2010 election against other gubernatorial candidates, including Esmael Mangudadatu, the vice mayor of Buluan, Maguindanao. Mangudadatu accused Ampatuan of being responsible for the massacre, in which the former's wife, sisters, aids and lawyers were among the dead.
As more bodies are recovered, Philippine President Gloria Arroyo declared a state of emergency in Maguindanao province, the scene of Monday's massacre. She vowed justice for the victims Tuesday, saying "no effort will be spared" to pursue the perpetrators.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon Wednesday condemned the massacre as a "heinous crime committed in the context of a local election campaign."
Tuesday evening a group of journalists in black T-shirts gathered at the Manila Police Headquarters, to mourn for the massacred journalists and to urge the government to investigate the killings.
Andal Ampatuan Jr. is the son of Datu Andal Ampatuan Sr., the governor of Maguindanao, a Philippine province located in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, governed by Ampatuan Jr.'s brother Datu Zaldy Ampatuan, an ally of the president.
