MANILA -- The Philippine National Police (PNP) charged Monday about 600 more supporters of former Maguindanao governor Andal Ampatuan Sr. with rebellion, which allegedly took place after the November 23 ma**acre.
The same charges were earlier filed by the Department of Justice (DOJ) against the Ampatuan patriarch, his sons Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (Armm) Governor Zaldy Ampatuan, Sajid Islam Ampatuan, and Shariff Aguak Mayor Anwar Ampatuan; Vice Governor Akmad Tato Ampatuan; and 19 others before the Cotabato Regional Trial Court (RTC).
For updates from around the country, follow Sun.Star on Twitter
In the criminal complaint filed by Senior Superintendent Benito Estipona of the PNP-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG), police identified the leaders of the rebellion allegedly committed on November 28, five days after the gruesome murder of 57 people in Maguindanao, as follows:
* Mayor Yacob "Jack" Ampatuan of Rajah Buayan * Mayor Banarin of Mamasapano * Datu Ulo Ampatuan * Datu Ipi Ampatuan * Salibo Vice Mayor Datu Kanor Ampatuan * Sultansa Burangis Vice Mayor Sukarno Badal * Barira Mayor Alexander Tumawis * Datu Udin Mayor Ombra Sinsuat * Parang Mayor Abu Talib * Engineer Nurie Unas, provincial administrator of Maguindanao.
All the 10 identified leaders, as well as 17 sub-leaders remain at large.
The charges are based on evidences gathered by police, the testimony of witnesses, photographs taken at the rally sites in urban areas in Maguindanao, the abandoned local government offices, high-powered firearms and ammunitions, photos of the Ampatuan allies showing off their sophisticated firearms, as well as the seized high-powered firearms, ammunitions and armored vehicles of the Ampatuan clan.
Police also showed the mission orders for the arrests of suspected leaders who participated in the November 23 ma**acre of members of the rival Mangudadatu clan, their supporters and accompanying journalists, prompting the alleged uprising.
The CIDG maintained that the Ampatuan elders, led by Ampatuan Sr. and Zaldy, gathered their political allies and supporters at their residence in Shariff Aguak town and declared that in response to their impending arrest by the forces of the National Government, they would resist and fight back.
Ampatuan Sr., the complaint further stated, also ordered thousands of his armed supporters to be ready for this eventuality. He also declared, "I call on you to use our force against the government is necessary."
His son-in-law Yacob, in agreement, said: "Yun ang maganda. Dun tayo magkaisa. Gamitin natin ang mga thousands na savings natin na mga baril para labanan ang gobyerno."
Three witnesses confirmed the incident as well as the leaders' declarations and orders to their allies and supporters, such as hundreds of armed civilian volunteers to rebel against the National Government and repel military and police forces.
"The unfolding of the events of taking up arms, abandonment and closure of local government offices, to include the offices of the judicial court and prosecution services, and the ma**ing of Ampatuan's private armies in different rural areas in Maguindanao are the conditions which developed into the withdrawal of allegiance by the political allies and supporters of the Ampatuan families, all of which forced the President to declare Martial Law in the province on December 4, 2009," the CIDG said.
Also on Monday, charges of multiple murder, robbery, and damage to property were filed by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) against 28 individuals, including Ampatuan Sr. and son Zaldy, before the Justice department.
The charges are in connection with the November 23 ma**acre of members of the rival Mangudadatu clan, supporters and accompanying media practitioners in Ampatuan town, Maguindanao, wherein Datu Unsay Mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr. stood charged as principal accused before the Cotabato RTC.
The records of the case before the Cotabato court will eventually be transferred to an RTC branch in Quezon City on orders of the Supreme Court (SC). A raffle of the case will be done Tuesday at the Quezon City RTC.
On top of the multiple-murder and robbery offenses, the Ampatuan patriarch and Zaldy are likewise charged for rebellion before the DOJ.
Aside from the Ampatuans, the NBI complaint identified about 500 followers of the Ampatuans who make up the clan’s private armies, civilian volunteers organization (CVOs), and police auxiliary groups.
The complaint was based on the sworn statements issued by 21 witnesses, among them a local official in Maguindanao who tagged Ampatuan Sr. as the "real brains" behind the November 23 ma**acre.
The official said he heard Ampatuan Jr. talked on his handheld radio and said, "Ama, naiaden silan (Father, they're already here)."
The witness said the person that Ampatuan Jr. talked to replied, "Katawan nungka den ngin e gulan nungka (You know what you have to do)."
Another witness stated that while inside the compound of the Ampatuan residence, he saw Ampatuan Sr. having a meeting with some of his sons and other individuals.
Ampatuan Sr. was heard as saying in his local dialect that if any of the Mangudadatu would pa** by, their men must annihilate all of them, including the children.
a**istant Chief State Prosecutor Richard Fadullon, member of the special panel created by the DOJ to investigate the ma**acre, said they would have to crosscheck the names of the 28 new respondents named by the NBI if they were already included in earlier complaints filed with the panel. Respondents in the case already reached 183 as of December 11.
Prosecutors are scheduled to conduct preliminary investigation for this batch on December 18 at 10 a.m., at the DOJ.
So far, the police have identified a total of 183 suspects in the ma**acre with only one of them, Ampatuan Jr., indicted in court.
Ampatuan Jr. was ordered to appear in the hearing even if he is already detained at NBI headquarters in Manila over a separate complaint for 25 counts of murder earlier filed by Buluan Vice Mayor Ishmael "Toto" Mangudadatu, whose wife Genalyn and two sisters were among those killed in the ma**acre. (JCV/Sunnex)
(0.0) 
WEBSITE
SEND
PRINT
BOOKMARK