3 witnesses tag Ampatuan Jr in Maguindanao massacre

At least three witnesses in the mass killing of 57 people in Maguindanao have pointed to Datu Unsay town mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr. as one of the armed men that intercepted the convoy of the Mangudadatus last November 23. GMA News’ Jiggy Manicad reported that the two-page sworn statements of the witnesses, whose identities were withheld, were almost identical. They claimed that they were on board the cars that had been trailing the convoy led by the Mangudadatu women on that fateful day, as it headed towards Shariff Aguak to register Buluan vice mayor Ismael Mangudadatu as gubernatorial candidate for the province. But when they entered Ampatuan town, the convoy was flagged down by gunmen in what seemed to be a checkpoint. The witnesses saw “many police cars." "We were threatened to see (Mayor Ampatuan Jr.) approaching the first vehicle of the convoy. Bai Genalyn boarded there," the affidavit read, pertaining to the wife of Ismael. "At that time we heard simultaneous shooting from the armed bodyguard of (Mayor Ampatuan Jr.). Some of the armed men went to and ordered the opening of the windows of the Mangudadatu vehicles." "For fear, we hurriedly boarded again our car and returned back to Esperanza, Sultan Kudarat."
In their joint affidavit, Ibrahim "Jong" Mangudadatu, Zajid "Dodong" Mangudadatu, and Freddie Mangudadatu narrated the ghastly image of the dead bodies of their relatives and other victims at the massacre site. "I noticed some of the male victims tied on their backs, female victims' pants/zipper were open, some scattering around like slaughtered pigs, most injuries were on the heads, and some parts/accessories of the vehicles were forcibly take," the affidavit said. The Ampatuans have repeatedly denied involvement in the crime. They likewise said they were unfazed by the charges that would be leveled against them, the report said. “As a lawyer I knew that these affidavits’ complaint is very weak. So if there is no basis in filing all these charges against the mayor, we as lawyer are oath-bound to serve him, to protect his constitutional rights," said lawyer Philip Pantoja, one of the 40 lawyers hired by the powerful Muslim clan to defend Mayor Ampatuan. As of posting time, only the Datu Unsay town mayor has been apprehended by authorities and is currently detained at the National Bureau of Investigation. At least seven counts of murder are expected to be filed against him on Tuesday. At the same time, the mayor and eight other Ampatuan clansmen have been placed on the immigration watchlist. These include Maguindanao Governor Andal Ampatuan Sr., Autonomous Region for Muslim Mindanao Gov. Zaldy Ampatuan, Nords Ampatuan, Akmad Ampatuan, Saudi Ampatuan Jr., Bahnarian Ampatuan, Sajid Islam Ampatuan, and Akmad “Tato" Ampatuan. They were barred from leaving the country in order not to frustrate the government's investigation. – Aie Balagtas See/JV, GMANews.TV