2 cops implicate Andal Jr. in Maguindanao massacre

Datu Unsay, Maguindanao Mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr. was among the armed men who commandeered the ill-fated convoy of the 57 people brutally killed in Maguindanao province last week. This was according to the eyewitness accounts of the two Maguindanao policemen being linked to the killings, said to be the worst in the history of Philippine politics.

In their sworn affidavits obtained by GMA News, Chief Inspector Sukarno Adil Dicay and Inspector Rex Ariel Diongon denied that they were directly involved in the killings, and instead, pointed to Andal Jr. as the one who ordered the victims to get off their vehicles and lie on the ground, face-down. Dicay recounted: “Napansin ko pong kasama si MAYOR DATU ANDAL “UNSAY" UY AMPATUAN Jr...na may bitbit na baby Armalite (M-16) na may nakakabit na grenade launcher (M203). Habang tinututukan niya ang mga pasahero, sinisigawan niya ang mga ito ng ‘DAPA DAPA.’" (I noticed Mayor Datu Andal "Unsay" Uy Ampatuan Jr...brandishing a baby Armalite with an attached grenade launcher. While he was pointing his firearm at the passengers, he was shouting, lie face down, lie face down!) Diongon also said Andal Jr., who held some of the victims at gunpoint, wore maong jeans and a hooded black jacket with white stripes. Prior to their relief, Dicay served as the deputy provincial police director of Maguindanao while Diongon served as the commander of the 1508th Police Provincial Mobile Group (PPMG) in the province. The two were among the four policemen relieved from their posts and are being investigated for their alleged involvement in the massacre. The two other policemen, Ampatuan police chief SPO2 Badawe Bakal and Maguindanao police head Senior Superintendent Agusana Maguid, have yet to execute their respective affidavits. The four are under the custody of the Philippine National Police. At the checkpoint According to Dicay and Diongon’s affidavits, at about 10 a.m. on November 23, Monday, they were manning the checkpoint along the Provincial Road at Sitio Malating, Barangay (village) Salman, Ampatuan town with 16 other members of the PPMG. At the time, they saw an approaching convoy led by a UNTV vehicle. Dicay and Diongon said they did not know who were on board the vehicles. Dicay said that when they stopped the convoy at the checkpoint, more than 100 men carrying high-powered firearms arrived. Some of the men wore "camouflage green" uniforms while others wore ordinary civilian clothes. Dicay added that the men then ordered the convoy’s passengers to get off their vehicles, surrender their personal belongings, and lie on the ground face down. The men also took their mobile phones, laptops, and other papers. He also said that the armed men threatened to kill them if they meddled on. "Habang ito ay kanilang ginagawa, ang aming grupo ay tinutukan ng iba nilang kasamahan ng mahahabang baril at sinabihan ng ‘WAG KAYONG MAKIKIALAM, KUNG HINDI MAMAMATAY KAYO,’" Dicay said in his affidavit. Dicay also said he even asked Andal Jr. not to shoot the victims who were lying face down. “WAG DATU, WAG DATU, WAG KAYONG MAGPAPAPUTOK," he told the Datu Unsay mayor. The mayor’s men Dicay said he also saw a certain Tammy Masukat, commander of the Civilian Volunteer Organization in Maguindanao province, with Andal Jr.’s group. Dicay quoted Masukat as saying they were with Mamasapano, Maguindanao Mayor Bahnarin Ampatuan, Datu Ulo Ampatuan, grandson of clan patriarch, Maguindanao Governor Andal Ampatuan Sr. Also with them was a certain Muhamad Sangki, who he said is an official in Datu Abdullah Sangki, Maguindanao. Diongon added that he also saw Salibo, Maguindanao Vice Mayor Datu Kanor Ampatuan, who was carrying an M-16 Bushmaster. “Sumisigaw din siya (Datu Kanor) ng ‘dapa-dapa’ at tinututukan ang mga pasahero," Diongon said. Andal Jr. asks: Where is Toto’s wife? Diongon elaborates. He added that Andal Jr. also threatened to kill them (policemen at the checkpoint) if they permitted others pass. Diongon likewise recounted that Andal Jr. looked for “Toto’s wife," possibly referring to the wife of Buluan town Vice Mayor Ismael “Toto" Mangudadatu. Diongon said in his affidavit : “Matapos po nilang kunan ng gamit ang mga pasahero, muli nilang pinasakay ang mga ito at pinagbantaan kami ni Mayor Andal Jr. ng ‘HUWAG KAYONG MAGPAPADAAN, KUNG HINDI AY PAPATAYIN KO KAYONG LAHAT.’ “Tapos nito, siya ay lumapit sa isang van at nagtanong siya ng ‘NASAAN DITO ANG MRS. NI TOTO’ at mula sa van na iyon siya ay may inakay na babae na pinasakay niya sa ibang sasakyan. Habang inaakay ni Mayor Andal Jr. ang babae, kinapkapan ng kasama ni Mayor ang nasabing babe at ng may makapa sa bulsa niya yung lalake, tinanong ng lalake kung cellphone ba iyon at siya ay sinagot ng babae na iyon ay pera." Dicay and Diongon said that after the incident, Andal Jr. and his men commandeered the vehicles and drove off to an unknown area. “Pagkasakay ng nasabing babae sa sasakyan na pinagdalhan sa kanya ni Mayor Andal Jr., sila ay umalis na at ang nagmaneho ng mga sasakyan ay ang mga kasamahan ni Mayor Andal Jr. ang mga tunay na drivers ng mga sasakyan ay isinakay sa isang pick-up," Diongon said. For his part, Dicay said he never thought that the passengers would be killed and he assumed Andal Jr. knew policemen witnessed what occurred at the checkpoint. Arrival of troops Dicay and Diongon said in their affidavits that they agreed not to talk about the incident for fear that the Ampatuans might get back at them and their families. “Kami po ni PINSP Diongon ay nag-usap dahil sa matinding takot at pangamba, hindi na naming nagawang ipaalam sa iba ang insidente. Alam naming makapangyarihan ang mga Ampatuan at kami ay hindi nakakasiguro na kung kami ay magrereport ng nangyari ay baka lalo pa kaming mapasama at pati na rin ang aming pamilya," Dicay said. At about 3 p.m. that day, two military trucks led by Lt. Col. Nerona (referring to Lt. Col. Rolando Nerona, head of the Philippine Army’s 64th Infantry Battalion, arrived at the checkpoint to inquire if the knew of an abduction that occurred in the area. Dicay and Diongon said they were forced to deny having any knowledge of the incident on suspicions that Nerona had connections with the Ampatuans. "Hindi po namin nagawang sabihin kung sino ang may kagagawan ng pagdukot dahil sa takot at kawalan ng tiwala dahil sa baka ang nasabing grupo ng Army ay hawak ng mga Ampatuan," Diongon said. While they said they knew nothing about any abduction, Dicay ordered Diongon to accompany the military in conducting hot pursuit on the suspects the troops were looking for. The killing fields Later that day, Diongon reported that they reached Sitio Masalay where the bodies of the victims were found. Dicay said that he later learned that the victims were the Mangudadatus, their entourage, and members of the media. The group was bound for the Comelec office in Shariff Aguak, the provincial capital, to file a certificate of candidacy on behalf of Ismael Mangudadatu. The next morning, Tuesday, November 24, Diongon and Dicay were “restricted inside camp" after they were linked to the killings. On November 25, they were brought to the office of the National Police’s Crime Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) in Cotabato City for initial investigation. A day after, Dicay and Diongon, along with two other police officers tagged in the massacre, were brought to Camp Crame in Quezon City. Dicay executed his affidavit on November 29, Sunday, while Diongon executed his a day earlier. Dicay admitted he had been remiss if his duties because he was not able to stop the grisly killings. He said he decided to speak up to bring justice to the victims. "Ginawa ko po ang paglalahad na ito upang magkaroon din naman ako ng pagkakataong maisatuwid ang aking pagkukulang at mabigyan ng hustisya at katarungan ang mga napatay," he said. (I executed this affidavit in order to make up for my failure and to give justice to all the victims.) - RSJ, GMANews.TV