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Witnesses in Maguindanao massacre arrive at DOJ


Witnesses to the November 23 Maguindanao massacre arrived at the Department of Justice (DOJ) building in Manila as authorities beefed up security for the first preliminary investigation into the mass killings in Ampatuan town on Friday afternoon. GMA News' Tina Panganiban-Perez reported that the Philippine National Pollice (PNP) convoy carrying at least 20 police officers implicated in the gruesome mass murder of 57 people arrived at the DOJ compound around 11:20 a.m. for the 2 p.m. preliminary investigation. Police officers have beefed up security at the DOJ, checking everyone who enters the compound. The parking space inside the compound has also been cordoned off, the report said. The media were prohibited from entering the multi-purpose hall where the preliminary investigation will take place, but cameras have been set up inside the venue to allow them to monitor the situation from outside. The DOJ issued subpoenas to around 200 people, including prime suspect Datu Unsay Mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr., who was the first member of his powerful clan to be charged for multiple murder. Other members of the Ampatuan clan told to attend the preliminary investigation include patriarch and former Maguindanao governor Andal Ampatuan Sr., Autonomous Region for Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) Governor Zaldy Ampatuan, Maguindanao Governor Sajid Islam Ampatuan, Vice Governor Akhmad Ampatuan, and Shariff Aguak Mayor Anwar Ampatuan. All have been charged with rebellion, which the Arroyo administration cited as the basis for its one-week imposition of martial law over the southern Philippine province.


GMA News' John Consulta, reporting from the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) headquarters in Manila where Andal Jr. is detained, said authorities are just waiting for the bullet proof van that will transport the prime suspect to the DOJ. Security has likewise been beefed up at the NBI headquarters, with additional NBI agents armed with high caliber firearms and bomb-sniffing dogs stationed around the premises. An earlier report said around 300 cops have been deployed to secure the NBI and DOJ premises. GMA News' Ivan Mayrina said over QTV's Balitanghali that 26 police officials have gone to the Public Attorney's Office (PAO) to request legal assistance from PAO chief Persida Rueda-Acosta. Acosta said the accused would have to go through an indigency test, as they can also be provided with assistance by the PNP's legal services. The PAO's Rose Marie Gonzalez was assigned to handle the police officers' request. Last November 23, a convoy led by the wife and two sisters of Buluan town Vice Mayor Ismael "Toto" Mangudadatu were blocked by a group of around 100 armed men while it was on its way to Shariff Aguak to file Mangudadatu's certificate of candidacy for his gubernatorial bid. Andal Jr. was allegedly going to seek the same post. The convoy, which included around 30 journalists, was later found killed, some of them buried, in a hillside mass grave in Ampatuan town. The mass murder has been widely condemned locally and internationally. - with Johanna Camille Sisante/RSJ, GMANews.TV
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