Andal Jr threatened to ‘kill Toto next,’ prosecution lawyer claims

Andal Ampatuan Jr., a principal accused in the multiple murder case arising from the massacre of 57 people in Maguindanao last year, allegedly threatened to kill Maguindanao Gov. Esmael "Toto" Mangudadatu when the latter approached him during the resumption of hearings in Taguig City on Wednesday. Prosecution lawyer Nena Santos, legal counsel for Mangudadatu, said her client approached Andal Jr. while he was seated inside the court room at Camp Bagong Diwa during the lunch break for Wednesday's day-long hearing. Santos said she witnessed the exchange of words between Mangudadatu and Andal Jr. since she — unlike other people in the court room who went out for lunch — opted to stay and just eat inside the room. "Sinabi lang ni Toto, 'Bakit mo nagawa iyon sa mga babae [How could you have done it to the women],'" Santos told GMANews.TV after the resumption of the murder trial for the killings of 57 people on November 23 last year. Mangudadatu, who ended up winning as Maguindanao governor last May, was referring to the female members of the electoral convoy. To Mangudadatu's surprise, Andal Jr. reportedly responded by threatening to kill him. "Baka gusto mo, ikaw naman ang isunod kong ipapatay [Do you want me to have you killed next?]," Andal allegedly said, then drove home his point by making a hand gesture of a gun being fired toward Mangudadatu. Santos said Mangudadatu did not respond to Andal Jr.’s threat and just walked out of the court room as members of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology stepped in to prevent the imminent squabble. Mangudadatu and his own clan have become rivals of the Ampatuans since he first moved to contest the Maguindanao governorship, a post long held by clan patriarch Andal Sr. Mangudadatu's wife, Genalyn, and his two sisters were among the victims of the massacre. 'Beautiful, tall, fair-skinned' Earlier in the day, Mangudadatu was reacting to the prosecution's second witness, farmer and construction worker Norodin Mauyag, who testified how Andal Jr. treated the women in the ill-fated convoy when they were stopped at a checkpoint along the national highway at Sitio Malating. According to Mauyag, after the convoy members were rounded up at a small canteen along the road, Andal Jr. asked who among them belonged to the Mangudadatu clan. [See related: Andal Jr. frisked victims before massacre — witness] At that point, Andal Jr. allegedly pulled one of the women from the group, whom Mauyag described as "beautiful, tall, and fair-skinned," and fired a warning shot in front of her. It was not clear if the woman Mauyag was referring to was Mangudadatu's wife, although the witness later in the hearing identified several people he saw on that fateful day through photographs presented in court on Wednesday. Mangudadatu did not finish the hearing and left the court room shortly after proceedings resumed past noon. He could not immediately be contacted through his mobile phone as of posting time. 'What happened was the opposite' Andal Jr.'s legal counsel Sigfrid Fortun belied the Maguindanao governor's claims, saying that the "opposite" actually happened, as recounted to him by his client. "He [Mangudadatu actually] challenged my client to a fist fight," said Fortun after Wednesday's eight-hour proceedings. The defense lawyer also said it was unlikely for his client to make such threats against Mangudadatu. "How can he [Andal Jr.] threaten Mangudadatu. He was handcuffed there and quietly sitting at the back," Fortun said. Upon hearing about the incident, Fortun said he just advised his client to "just ignore" Mangudadatu's supposed threat. Asked if the defense would bring the matter before the attention of Judge Jocelyn Solis-Reyes, Fortun said: "I'm sorry but we won't reveal what our moves are going to be." For her part, Santos said she and the other prosecutors are still studying the possibility of calling the judge's attention about the matter, when proceedings resume October 20.—JV, GMANews.TV