Ampatuan kin cries foul over Lakas expulsion

Zaldy Ampatuan, a member of the powerful Ampatuan clan now in hot water over their alleged involvement in last week's grisly massacre of at least 57 people, has cried foul over their expulsion from the administration party Lakas-Kampi-CMD. “Nang malaman ko na inalis nila ako sa partido, unang-una nabigla ako at nasaktan. Bakit ganon? Ano ba nagawa ko? Ano bang mali ko? May nilabag ba akong sistema o batas ng aming partido? " Ampatuan, governor of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), told GMA News' reporter Jiggy Manicad in a one-on-one interview. (I was surprised and hurt when I learned that they kicked me out of the party. I said, what did I do? Did I violate any of the party's rules?) The interview was aired over "24 Oras." Ampatuan - along with his father, Maguindanao governor Andal Ampatuan Sr., and brother, Andal Jr. - were voted out of Lakas-Kampi-CMD last week through the initiatives of the party's standard bearer, Gilberto Teodoro Jr. Party members voted unanimously against the Ampatuans last Wednesday for their alleged failure “to uphold party ideals and principles in their area of jurisdiction, specifically relating to the peaceful, legal, and democratic pursuit and exercise of political power."

The decision of Lakas-Kampi-CMD came two days after 57 people - members of the rival Mangudadatu clan along with several lawyers and journalists - were waylaid by armed men allegedly upon orders from Andal Jr., who is now detained in Manila to face the multiple charges that will be filed against him. The Ampatuans are known allies of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo in Mindanao. Lakas-Kampi-CMD members likewise stripped Ampatuan and his father of their duties and responsibilities as the party's regional and provincial chairmen, respectively. Ampatuan, who said he was in Manila when the massacre happened, chided Teodoro and other party members for arriving at a decision without hearing first his family's side on the issue. Asked if the administration’s move was intended to weaken their family’s clout, Ampatuan nodded and said: “Palagay ko. Hindi ko alam kung anong dahilan (I guess, but I don't know the reason why.)." He appealed to the government to give their family a chance to explain their side before imposing sanctions on them. He also assured his family's cooperation with the ongoing investigation on the massacre, which was condemned by the international community including the United Nations and the European Union. - KBK, GMANews.TV