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Mangudadatu faces Andal Jr. in Ampatuan massacre trial


“Ang aking naisip ay paano siya sumisigaw habang nilalapastangan, kung paano siya sumisigaw na huwag siyang patayin (I was thinking how she was screaming while she was being violated, and how she was begging for her life)." Those were his thoughts while he stared at the image of the lifeless body of his wife Genalyn, Vice Mayor Ismael “Toto" Mangudadatu of Buluan, Maguindanao told a Quezon City court on Wednesday. Then he slowly bowed his head and wept briefly, after confirming that it was his wife shown on the photograph of a woman who appeared to have been brutally killed. Mangudadatu took the witness stand for the first time on Wednesday at the resumption of the multiple murder trial of Andal Ampatuan Jr., mayor of Datu Unsay town in Maguindanao province and principal suspect in the killing of 57 people, including Mangudadatu’s wife. Ampatuan Jr. stared blankly at Mangudadatu throughout the latter's testimony. In a previous hearing, the families of the other victims, most of whom were journalists, similarly broke down in heart-rending sobs, unable to take in the sordid details of the massacre. (See: Tears shed during Maguindanao massacre trial)
’Do not run for governor’ The vice mayor of Buluan town traced the beginnings of his family’s ties with the Ampatuan clan, which later became his own clan’s political rival, until the fateful day of November 23, 2009 when he lost his wife. “I know him (Ampatuan Jr.) well. I’ve known him for more than 10 years, when my father was still alive and my father and his father were close," Mangudadatu said. In his testimony, he recounted that clan patriarch Andal Ampatuan Sr. had tried several times to convince him not to run for Maguindanao governor. The first incidents were in October 2006, when Ampatuan Sr. invited the vice mayor to a meeting; and in November 2007, when Ampatuan Sr. himself went to Buluan town to persuade him again not to push through with his gubernatorial bid. Mangudadatu replied, however, that he wanted to contest the position because of a public clamor. The vice mayor also recounted that in July 2008, the Mangudadatus personally went to President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in Guagua town, Pampanga province because Ampatuan Sr. had supposedly ordered that policemen in Pandag, Maguindanao — a Mangudadatu turf — be disarmed. Next, in two separate meetings, Ampatuan Sr. supposedly reiterated his appeal to Mangudadatu not to continue with his gubernatorial bid — in July and August 2009, both with presidential adviser on political affairs Gabriel Claudio in attendance. Gibo 'shows concern' The vice mayor also testified that last October 10, at a Manila restaurant, he met with then Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr., who was then being groomed as the standard bearer of the administration party, Lakas-Kampi-CMD. Teodoro purportedly told Mangudadatu that he should not pursue the governorship because he would be in danger. "Huwag, mahal na mahal kita, alam mong may pagka-bayolente ang mga taong iyan," (Don’t do it, I love you too much, you know those people can be violent)," Mangudadatu recalled Teodoro as telling him. Even Local Water Utilities Adminstration chief Prospero Pichay, an administration ally, supposedly discouraged Mangudadatu from running. “He asked me if I was running. I said yes. He then said I should take care [because] the people there are violent," Mangudadatu said. November 23 Despite Ampatuan Sr.’s repeated appeals and the warnings of Teodoro and Pichay, Mangudadatu went ahead with his plan. Last November 23, he sent his wife Genalyn, his two sisters, other relatives, and his two lawyers to go to the provincial capitol in Shariff Aguak to file his certificate of candidacy for governor. The group was accompanied by at least 32 journalists. “Kami po’y nagpasya na babae ang ipadala (We decided to send women)," Mangudadatu said, explaining that in Islam, women should be not be harmed and should be treated with dignity. But he was wrong. At about 10:17 that morning, he received a phone call from Genalyn. “Sabi niya, ‘Hinarang kami ng napakaraming lalaki dito. Mga armado. Andito si Unsay, sinampal niya ako.’ (She said, ‘We were blocked by many armed men here. Unsay is here, he slapped me.’) Those were the last words of my wife," Mangudadatu recounted. (See: The Ampatuan massacre: A map and timeline) In Maguindanao, Mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr. is also commonly called by his clan-given name, Unsay or Datu Unsay. The town that he ruled as mayor is also called Datu Unsay, apparently renamed in his honor. In the same hearing, witness Mohammad Sangki corroborated earlier statements that Ampatuan Jr. carried out the massacre as he ordered victims to lie face down and later checked their faces one by one before they were brought to a nearby hill and shot dead. (See: Andal Ampatuan Jr. carried out massacre, says witnesses) Wrenching experience Mangudadatu then recalled how he underwent the wrenching experience of viewing Genalyn’s body at a funeral parlor, a day after the November 23 carnage. “Her lower jaw was crushed. Her genitals were shot. Her hands and feet were crushed. She had 17 gunshot wounds. She had lacerations on her right breast," Mangudadatu recounted, adding that he was present during the medicolegal examination of his wife’s body. At that point, the prosecution panel asked Mangudadatu to confirm whether a picture of the mutilated body of a woman was indeed his wife. The vice mayor took a look, said yes, and wept. — JV/NPA, GMANews.TV

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