MANILA – A witness told the court on Wednesday that the governor of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) knew and approved the plan that resulted in the massacre of 57 people in Maguindanao province on November 23.
Aside from tagging ARMM Governor Zaldy Ampatuan, Mohamad Sangki also testified that before they were gunned down, he saw Mayor Andal Ampatuan Junior of Datu Unsay town, Maguindanao order the victims to lie down as he stooped down to inspect their faces one by one.
Mohamad, a councilor in the town of Abdullah Sangki in Maguindanao, was the latest witness to be presented by the prosecution to oppose to petition for bail filed by Mayor Ampatuan’s defense lawyers before Judge Jocelyn Solis-Reyes of the Regional Trial Court of suburban Quezon City, Metro Manila.
Accompanied by heavily armed escorts from the National Bureau of Investigation, Mayor Ampatuan was present during the hearing held in a makeshift court at the officers’ clubhouse of the Philippine National Police headquarters in Quezon City.
Mohamad testified that he learned of Governor Ampatuan’s alleged involvement in the the massacre from Mayor Bahnarin Ampatuan of Mamasapano town, who confided to him he was present during a meeting of clan members.to plan the carnage.
The Ampatuans are the sons of the former Maguindanao governor Andal Ampatuan, the patriarch of a powerful and influential clan that maintained a tight political and economic stranglehold on the province for the past nine years.
The testimony of Mohamad, who is related to the clan, disputed the claim of Governor Ampatuan that he had no prior knowledge and that on November 23 when the massacre was committed, he was in Manila for consultations with Malacanang officials.regarding the candidates to be put up by the ruling party in ARMM in the May elections.
Zaldy Ampatuan was later suspended as ARMM governor following the filing of rebellion charges against him, his father and other members of the clan as a result of the massacre.
Aside from Magjuindanao, the other component provinces of ARMM are Lanao del Sur, Sultan Kudarat, Tawi-Tawi, Basilan and Sulu as well as Marawi City.
At the witness stand, Mohamad also confirmed the earlier testimony of his nephew, Rasul Sangki, the vice mayor Ampatuan town, that Mayor Ampatuan Junior was directly involved in the massacre.
As allegedly planned by the clan, Mohamad revealed he was informed that the Ampatuans wanted to prevent the relatives of the scion of a rival clan, Vice Mayor Esmael Mangudadatu of Buluan town in Maguindanao, to file his certificate of candidacy for governor before the Commission on Elections (Comelec) office in the capital of Shariff Aguak
Two weeks ago, Rasul testified that he personally saw Mayor Ampatuan Junior fire the first shot that resulted in the massacre of 57 people, including the wife and two sisters of Mangudadatu and 30 Mindanao-based journalists.
In his testimony on Wednesday, Mohamad said that on November 19 he was ordered by Bahnarin Ampatuan to deploy 20 militiamen at a strategic crossing leading to Shariff Aguak and to stay there until December 2 to block the Mangudadatu convoy.
Mohamad said that on November 23, he and Rasul motored to the massacre site where they saw and hear Mayor Ampatuan Junior order the victims to alight from their vehicles and lie on the ground.
The defense panel tried to attack Mohamad’s credibility as a witness, saying that he was facing several criminal charges in court, particularly murder and arson.
But government lawyers pointed out the charges did not damage Mohamad’s testimony because of his personal knowledge and physical presence at the site when the massacre occurred.
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