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Armed Ampatuan supporters mass up despite martial law


(Updated 8:18 p.m.) Thousands of armed men believed to be supporters of the powerful Ampatuan clan are massing up in various areas in Maguindanao province, now under martial law as the government continues its crackdown on the people behind the grisly Nov. 23 massacre there. A GMA News Flash Report said tension rose in the province Sunday afternoon after several of these armed men were spotted in Mamasapano town. The report said the group even fired a shot while military and police officials were conducting a media briefing on the 39 firearms uncovered earlier in the day at a farm believed owned by the Ampatuans near the provincial capital of Shariff Aguak. The men fled after police and military reinforcements arrived in the area, the report said. In Manila, Philippine National Police (PNP) chief for operations General Andres Caro II said these men could belong to the “rebel groups of the Ampatuans." “It was confirmed by intelligence and sightings that the rebel groups of the Ampatuans, unaccounted [civilian volunteers] and other private armed groups are already propositioning and massing up in areas near the capitol," Caro said in a press briefing in Malacañang. In the same briefing, Armed Forces deputy chief for operations Maj. Gen. Gaudencio Pangilinan said the number of armed men still unaccounted for in the province could reach up to 4,000. “[There are] about 4,000 armed in area that can create potential trouble. We’ll run after them slowly," he said, adding that these men are capable of bombing and arson attacks, and even hijacking of buses and trucks in isolated areas.
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Surrender or else... Armed Forces chief Gen. Victor Ibrado said they would launch a military operation if these men, who are members of Civilian Volunteers Organization (CVO), would not surrender together with their firearms. “They should surrender and they should also surrender their firearms because we are finding the CVOs involved in the massacre. If they will not surrender, then we will be forced to conduct military operations against them," he said. At least 62 people have been arrested after President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo placed Maguindanao under martial law late Friday night. The government said it feared the Ampatuans, who have ruled unopposed with an iron fist over predominantly Muslim province for years, were fomenting rebellion in response to the crackdown on them since the massacre. The massacre, which claimed the lives of 57 people including several women and journalists, was allegedly perpetrated by the Arroyo-allied Ampatuan clan. The victims included members of the rival Mangudadatu clan. Ibrado said at least 2,000 CVOs were monitored to have been massing up in different areas near Shariff Aguak, where the office of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) is also located. Evacuations Fearing violence, some residents have fled towns in Maguindanao, about 545 miles (880 kilometers) south of Manila. Heavily armed troops manned checkpoints and frisked motorists along the main highway that cuts through farmland, hills and marshland in the province. The martial law proclamation allows troops to make arrests without court warrants. "I advise you to stay put and be calm or go about your daily chores," regional military commander Lt. Gen. Raymundo Ferrer said. "Only those having to do with the massacre will be arrested and their houses searched." Pro-democracy advocates, meanwhile, have accused President Arroyo of overreacting. A group of human rights lawyers has argued there are insufficient grounds for martial law and plans to challenge it in the Supreme Court on Monday. It is the first use of martial law in the Philippines since the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos imposed it nationwide more than 30 years ago. Malacañang, in Sunday's press briefing, defended Proclamation No. 1959. “The declaration of martial law in Maguindanao was not an overreaction. It was necessary to quell the rebellion by suspects of the massacre, to give justice to the victims, to arrest the suspects, secure the safety of witnesses and ensure that press freedom is back on track," said Press Secretary Cerge Remonde. He said President Arroyo had expected criticisms even before signing the proclamation. “The President is used to all of these. She has developed an attitude, which is to do what is best and let the people judge the rest," Remonde said. The military leadership said it would not hesitate to sanction its personnel who will be found committing abuses in Maguindanao during the duration of martial law. - with AP, Sophia Dedace/KBK, GMANews.TV
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