MANILA – The principal suspect in the massacre of at least 57 people in Maguindanao, including women members of a rival clan, has been allowed to sleep outside his detention cell because he is afraid of ghosts, an official of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) has disclosed.
Ricardo Diaz, the head of the NBI Counter Terrorism Unit, revealed that they granted the request of Mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr. of Datu Unsay town in Maguindanao province in Mindanao to sleep outside his cell at the NBI headquarters because of his fear of ghosts.
“Mayor Ampatuan said he is afraid of ghosts,†said Diaz, also the NBI spokesman on the massacre case. “He tries to sleep on the bench near the visitors’ area, wrapped in a comforter.â€
But Ampatuan himself has not admitted that he has seen ghosts, Diaz said.
And the suspect has been doing so since Saturday, Diaz added. The mayor was brought to the detention cell at the NBI headquarters in Manila on Thursday following his surrender in Maguindanao after he was tagged by the police as the prime suspect in the massacre.
But certainly Diaz pointed out that ghosts, not a guilty conscience, have been giving Ampatuan sleepless nights because he firmly denies his involvement in the massacre that has drawn mounting protests and denunciations both in the Philippines and abroad.
Ampatuan is the son and namesake of Governor Andal Ampatuan of Maguindanao, the patriarch of a powerful and influential clan in Mindanao, which has close political connections with the Arroyo administration as Malacanang officials have admitted.
His brother, Zaldy, is also the governor of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) of which Maguindanao is a component province along with Lanao del Sur, Sultan Kudarat, Sulu, Basilan, Tawi-Tawi and Marawi City.
The NBI official also disclosed that Ampatuan has requested for an electric fan to cool himself inside his hot, humid cell. He added the suspect has told his guards he is not used to sleeping in such conditions.
The mayor shares the cell with 17 detainees facing various charges, ranging from estafa and human trafficking to murder, according to other NBI officials.
The detention facility is heavily secured and barbed wires separate it from the visitors’ area as Diaz pointed out: “He has a lawyer working 24 hours by shift. But the lawyers are only staying at the visitors’ area. That’s how secure our jail here is.â€
At the same time, Diaz said Ampatuan had rejected food sent to him by those claiming to be his relatives for fear he might be poisoned.
In a related development, Director Roberto Rosales, the chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP) Metro Manila regional command, banned parking along streets in the NBI prevent possible attacks from outside against Ampatuan.
Rosales explained his order forms part of the tight security measures being taken by his command because of Ampatuan’s detention at the NBI.
Rosales said even NBI agents are prohibited to park their vehicles on streets, citing intelligence reports on threats on the life of Ampatuan. He did not elaborate.
Secretary Agnes Devanadera of the Department of Justice earlier reported that the government would file multiple murder charges against Ampatuan on Tuesday before the Regional Trial Court of Cotabato City in Mindanao on Tuesday.
But Devanadera said they would ask the Supreme Court to transfer the venue of the trial from Cotabato City to Manila to ensure the safety and protection of the witnesses.
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