Police chief was too scared to stop Andal Jr’s rampage

A former police official, who is among the nearly 200 accused in the Ampatuan multiple murder case but may turn witness, said on Wednesday he and his men did not dare thwart Andal Ampatuan Jr.’s alleged plan to massacre everyone in the convoy despite their knowing about it, simply due to their fear of the prime suspect. "Hindi siya ordinaryong sibilyan. Kaya niyang pumatay [He’s no ordinary civilian. He is capable of murder]," said Inspector Rex Ariel Diongon, himself a co-accused in the multiple murder case but who is offering to become a state witness.
Diongon's statement came after Andal Jr.'s lawyer, Sigfrid Fortun, during Wednesday's cross examination, asked the former police official why he did not report to his superiors Andal Jr.'s alleged plan to kill the members of an electoral convoy tasked to file the certificate of candidacy of then gubernatorial aspirant Esmael "Toto" Mangudadatu. Diongon had earlier testified that he was among the key officials instructed by Andal Jr., during a November 19 meeting, to block the Mangudadatu convoy at Sitio Malating of Barangay Masalay, Datu Unsay town, Maguindanao province. Diongon, who headed the 1508th Regional Mobile Group based in Maguindanao, also claimed to have witnessed how Andal Jr. and his band of armed civilians mauled and beat up members of the convoy at the checkpoint. But the police official said he chose not to lift a finger the whole time because he was afraid the Ampatuans might turn their ire on him. "Hindi ko sila kayang pigilan. Natatakot kaming pigilan siya dahil marami siyang taong armado," Diongon explained, saying he and his 15 men were no match against the 100-strong private army allegedly led by Andal Jr. in behalf of the Ampatuan clan. Diongon, having been assigned to Maguindanao since April 2008, said he was well aware of the power wielded by the Ampatuans in Maguindanao — who allegedly maintained their own private army with its huge arms arsenal. Multiple affidavits Fortun, on the other hand, argued that Diongon executed five different affidavits in the span of two months from November 2009 to January 2010 and gave additional information while sitting on the witness stand on October 27, 2010. To the defense lawyer, this meant that the police officer was trying to tailor-fit his statements so that these would "coincide" with the prosecution's "theory" that the Ampatuans masterminded the carnage. (See: Andal Jr lawyer: Witness changes affidavits to back 'prosecution theory') In reply, Diongon said it was actually his fear of the Ampatuans that prompted him to execute a number of affidavits about the massacre, adding that he made his first three affidavits "out of fear." "Each of the five affidavits has its own story to tell," Diongon told Judge Jocelyn Solis-Reyes of the Regional Trial Court Branch 221. His first affidavit, executed on November 25, talked about a certain bomb threat report that was used to justify the deployment of policemen and setting up of the Malating checkpoint, when it was actually meant to cover up the massacre. (See: Cop in Ampatuan massacre admits fabricated affidavit) In his second affidavit, executed on November 29 at Camp Crame in Quezon City, Diongon discarded his "bomb scare" account and admitted that the checkpoint was indeed meant to block the electoral convoy. However, Diongon admitted during Wednesday's hearing that in that affidavit, he continued to withhold other information about the crime. "I wanted to tell everything but Dicay was there. So hindi ko masabi lahat-lahat [So I couldn’t tell all]," Diongon said, referring to Maguindanao police deputy director Chief Inspector Sukarno Dicay, who was also detained at Camp Crame at that time. He said he was only able to relay the "complete and full" details of his knowledge about the massacre in his fourth and fifth affidavits, respectively executed on January 12 and 26, 2010 before prosecutors from the Department of Justice. But asked by Fortun if he had personally seen Andal Jr. kill anyone, Diongon answered in the negative. "Oh, so you mean your impression [about Andal Jr.] was only in your mind?" Fortun asked, to which Diongon curtly replied with another "No." Andal Jr., clad in a yellow prison shirt, quietly sat through the cross examination of Diongon. He had failed to attend last week's hearing due to dizziness and stomach pains. (See: ‘Dizzy’ Andal Jr skips multiple murder hearing) The former Datu Unsay mayor, five of his relatives, and around 190 local policemen and militiamen are charged with 57 counts of murder. Of the accused, 78 have already been arrested while the rest remain at large. Fifteen, including Andal Jr., are undergoing trial. Clan patriarch Andal Ampatuan Sr. and his other accused son Zaldy Ampatuan meanwhile have yet to be arraigned, pending the resolution of their respective motions to be stricken off the charge sheet.—JV, GMANews.TV