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Maguindanao placed under state of emergency


Maguindanao and Sultan Kudarat provinces, as well as Cotabato City, were placed under a state of emergency Tuesday in the wake of a gruesome massacre that claimed the lives of at least 22 people, including 12 journalists, in the area. President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo issued the order to prevent violence from escalating in the southwestern Mindanao, Press Secretary Cerge Remonde said. On Monday, a convoy led by the wife of Maguindanao Vice Mayor Datu Ismail "Toto" Mangudadatu was attacked by about 100 men on their way to Shariff Aguak town. Several members of the convoy were later found dead. The Mangudadatus blamed the killings on their known political rival, the Ampatuan political clan. The members of the convoy, numbering to between 40 and 46, were on their way to the Commission on Elections (Comelec) office in Shariff Aguak to file the certificate of candidacy (COC) of Toto, who intends to run for governor in the province. The journalists in the group were covering the event, which was considered major news as the Ampatuan family has not been challenged politically in the province. Shariff Aguak, the provincial capital, is widely known as Ampatuan turf. Toto sent his female relatives in the belief that his political rivals would not hurt them, in consideration of Islamic tradition to respect women.

The provinces of Maguindanao and Sultan Kudarat, and Cotabato City - all shaded in red - were placed under a state of emergency after the death of at least 22 people in Maguindanao. Google Maps
The Palace has instructed the military, the police, the Commission on Human Rights and the National Bureau of Investigation to jointly investigate the incident. Mrs. Arroyo said there would be "no untouchables" during the course of the investigation. Both the Mangudadatus and the Ampatuans are allied with the Arroyo administration. Military spokesman Lt. Col. Romeo Brawner said the Philippine Army's 6th Infantry Division has added two more battalions - composed of six companies - to beef up security in the area. "We have infused more personnel, armored personnel carriers, more helicopters in the area and all of these are now being used to go after the perpetrators," Brawner said. He said military forces in Maguindanao have been divided into three teams: one to recover the bodies, another to pursue the perpetrators, and a third one to cordon off the province. PNP hand? The Philippine National Police is already investigating reports that some of its men were involved in the brutal massacre. In a command conference in Manila, PNP chief Director General Jesus Verzosa ordered the relief of Maguindanao provincial director Abusana Maguid, provincial deputy director Chief Inspector Sukarno Adil Dicay, and two other police personnel. A radio report identified the two personnel as a certain SPO2 Bakal and a certain Inspector Diongon. Brawner said reports reaching the military headquarters also point to several members of the PNP as suspects. "Sa report na tinanggap namin, nakalagay na 100 men believed to be joint forces of the Maguindanao PNP and police auxiliary," he said. He stressed the need for the PNP to investigate the alleged involvement of its men in the massacre, adding "this was alarming because PNP personnel might have been involved." The police officials and personnel said to be involved in the incident were placed under restrictive custody, meaning they are not allowed to leave the police headquarters in Maguindanao. Brawner clarified that no members of the Citizens Armed Force Geographic Unit (CAFGU) were involved in the incident. He said the militia tagged in the massacre were members of the Civilian Volunteers' Organziation, which is under the PNP. The decision to remove the five policemen came after authorities received eyewitness accounts claiming that Dicay, Bakal, and Diongon were among the armed men who attacked the convoy on Monday. - Mark Merueñas/YA, GMANews.TV
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