More raps eyed vs Andal Jr. over seized high power ammo

More charges await Datu Unsay Mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr, the prime suspect in the Maguindanao massacre, over the discovery of ammunition and empty ammo cases in his home in Shariff Aguak town, which included high power bullets used only by the military in firing machine guns.

On top of the multiple murder charges filed against him last week, Andal Jr could also face charges of illegal possession of ammunition, according to Chief Supt. Felicisimo Khu Jr., deputy director general for administration of the Polic Officein Region 12. Khu, head of a group of authorities that investigated the November 23 grisly killings, said Andal Jr. could be charged for the possession of two .50-caliber ammunition. The said ammo used in machine guns could only be issued to military personnel, Khu told GMANews.TV in a phone interview on Friday. Non-military personnel, including civilians, are only allowed to carry firearms with a caliber of 7.62 or below, according to Khu. "He (Andal Jr.) could be charged because he is in possession of this. Hindi naman siya military, CVO (civilian volunteer organization) or even CAFGU (Citizen Armed Force Geographic Unit)," Khu said. "Ang allowed nga lang ay security pistols lang, iyong mga ganun lang. Pero ang cal-50, malaki na iyon (Andal Jr. is only allowed to carry security pistols, not .50-caliber ammunition)," he added. Apart from the cal-50 weapon, other retrieved items from Andal Jr.'s house included 13 pieces of ammunition used in M16 assault rifles. [See: Ammunition, ammo cases found inside Andal Jr.'s home] In a separate operation, Khu said his men also recovered a 12-gauge shotgun in one of the two residences of Hadji Akmad Ampatuan, nephew of former Governor Andal Ampatuan Sr. Authorities did not find firearms or ammunition in Akmad's second home, as well as in Andal Sr.'s residence. Meanwhile, Justice Secretary Agnes Devanadera was quoted in a radio report as saying that she believed that the discovery of the ammunition inside Andal Jr's house would strengthen the murder charges against the Datu Unsay mayor. The DOJ last week filed 25 counts of murder charges against Andal Jr. and several John Does after being linked to the massacre. However, the discovery of the ammunition in the Ampatuan residences cannot be automatically connected to the Nov. 23 incident, according to Khu. Khu said the ammunition could only be linked to the incident if it would be proven that the same kind of projectiles were used in the Ampatuan town carnage. On Thursday, authorities also unearthed commando weapons, explosives, ammunition, and military uniforms from a vacant lot within the same sitio where a mansion of of a relative of the Ampatuans is situated. The residence, though some 300 meters away, is the nearest house to the said lot. Khu said authorities would look for the people who buried the weaponry in the vacant lot. "Malay natin i-link nila ang mga Ampatuans (Who knows, the people might link the Ampatuans to this)." [See: Guns, explosives, ammo unearthed near Ampatuan mansion ] For his part, PNP chief Director General Jesus Verzosa said authorities were also verifying if the unearthed weaponry came from the military or the police. [See: AFP vows heads will roll over arms cache in Maguindanao] "Ang mga malalakas na gamit na ito ay (These high-powered weaponry)... only security forces will be the ones using (them)... We will check on the relationship and the issuance if they are traced with the different agencies," Verzosa said. If the recovered firearms from the vacant lot would be eventually linked to the Ampatuans, separate charges will await members of the clan, according to Verzosa. Verzosa noted that the caliber of some of the weapons, including M16 assault rifles recovered from the vacant lot seemed to match some of the shells that were found in the grave site where the massacre victims were buried. Findings by the PNP crime laboratory showed that the M16 rifle seized from one of the arrested armed civilian volunteers matched with the spent shells retrieved from the massacre site. The two volunteers claimed that Andal Jr. was with them when the Nov. 23 shooting happened. - MARK D. MERUEÑAS/ARCS, GMANews.TV