Andal Sr. hatched Nov. 23 massacre - witness

(Updated 4:03 PM) Clan patriarch Andal Ampatuan, Sr. masterminded the slaughter of 57 people in Maguindanao last November 23, in the country's worst incident of political violence, witness Rasul Sangki, vice mayor of Ampatuan town, told a Quezon City court on Wednesday. GMA News’ Jun Veneracion reported on Flash Report that at the resumption of the multiple murder trial of Datu Unsay Mayor Andal Jr., Sangki also testified that the patriarch had ordered his son and namesake Andal Jr. to carry out the killings. Sangki said he had witnessed the massacre from the time Andal Jr. and his private army commandeered the convoy led by the wife of Buluan town Vice Mayor Ismael “Toto" Mangudadatu, up to the time the victims were accosted and later killed at a nearby hill. Sangki also told the court he had seen Andal Jr. shoot two women and a journalist he identified as Jimmy “Pal-ak" Cabillo. The accused allegedly used an M-16 armalite where an M-203 grenade launcher was attached. He likewise said Andal Jr. and his militiamen had fired at the bodies of the victims to make sure they were dead. Sangki denied having shot any of the victims. Mangudadatu was earlier asked by the court to leave the courtroom, citing court policies that witnesses are not allowed to hear the testimonies of other witnesses. Mangudadatu also said he could not bear to hear Sangki’s testimony. "Siyempre, tao lang naman din tayo. Nalulungkot tayo pag nakikita natin, naririnig yung sinasaad ng witness kung ano yung ginawa ni Unsay [Andal Jr.] (I’m only human. I am saddened when I see and hear the witness describing what Andal Jr. did)," Mangudadatu said after walking out of the trial inside the National Police headquarters in Camp Crame, Quezon City. He later returned to the court room, according to a report by radio dzBB. Mangudadatu later told reporters on the sidelines of the hearing that he was confident Sangki’s testimony would work “strongly" against Andal Jr. and his father. Mangudadatu also said he was surprised that Sangki had testified against the Ampatuans since he was a supporter of the powerful clan. In a separate interview with ANC, Mangudadatu claimed that he and his family have been receiving death threats, demanding them to "sober down" with his statements against the Ampatuans. "I receive threats to my life almost everyday, including my family... through text and some calls," Mangudadatu said. "(They are) asking me to sober down (sic) my statements against the Ampatuan because they might kill me," he added. Mangudadatu said he does not know where the threats were coming from but he will be happy to die for a cause. As of posting time, the hearing at the Police Non-Commissioned Officers Club House was still ongoing. Journalists were barred from documenting the trial using video and still cameras, and audio recorders. According to a report by ANC, three or four witnesses were expected to be presented on Wednesday. Sangki’s affidavit Last year, media obtained copies of Sangki’s affidavit, where the vice mayor claimed that he had witnessed the killing and that he overheard former Andal Sr. reminding Andal Jr. of what to do with the Mangudadatus, their rival political clan. In his affidavit, Sangki said Andal Jr. radioed his father after receiving information from Police Inspector Sukarno Dicay, former deputy chief of the Maguindanao Provincial Police Office, that the Mangudadatu convoy led by Ismael's wife had been intercepted in Sitio Malating. Andal Jr. even asked Dicay if anybody in the convoy was armed, to which Dicay replied in the negative and said they were mostly women. Dicay has denied involvement in the killings. "Father, they're already here," Andal Jr. allegedly told his father. "Son, you already know what you must do," came Andal Sr's supposed reply. Sangki also said Andal Jr. had shot the victims himself, point-blank. "Then [he] started shooting the victims as soon as they were brought in front of him. Some were already on their knees, crying and shouting for mercy," Sangki said. "In fact, one media known to Datu Unsay who fondly called him 'Pal-ak' pleaded for his life but still, [Andal Jr.] shot him to death," Sangki added, referring to Jimmy Cabillo of the Midland Review, who was one of the 31 journalists killed on November 23. - Sophia Regina Dedace and Mark Merueñas, with reports from Aie Balagtas See/NPA, RJAB Jr./GMANews.TV