Querubin narrates brush with Ampatuan power in amnesty application

Alleged mutineer Ariel Querubin, a former Marine colonel, had experienced for himself the clout of the Ampatuan clan — a feared political family in Central Mindanao — when he was still with the Armed Forces and assigned in Marawi City in 2006. In a document submitted to the Department of National Defense (DND) on Tuesday when he applied for amnesty, Querubin, a decorated officer, narrated that in February 2006, his unit confiscated 34 assorted high-powered firearms and ammunition allegedly intended for the Ampatuans. Querubin, then a brigade commander, said all the firearms “were loose with either tampered or defaced serial numbers." “Senior military officers and influential politicians interceded for the release of said firearms but I stood my ground," said Querubin, a recipient of the highest military decoration for bravery and gallantry in combat. “Cases were filed against a [Philippine National Police] provincial director and a Mayor who escorted the six vehicle convoy carrying said firearms but all the cases were dropped after I was relieved," he added. Some members of the Ampatuan clan, including its patriarch Andal Ampatuan Sr., a former Maguindanao governor, have been accused of masterminding the grisly massacre of 57 people, including 32 journalists, in Maguindanao on Nov. 23, 2009. The Ampatuans used to be allied with the Arroyo administration, but its members were kicked out of the then ruling Lakas-CMD party following the massacre, considered as the worst case of political violence in the country. “Help the governor" Querubin, who days after the incident with the firearms led a failed uprising in Manila, said he approached then AFP chief Gen. Generoso Senga to ask if he instructed a certain Maj. Gen. Demaala to intercede for the release of the confiscated firearms. Querubin said Senga told him that there was no such instruction, although the AFP chief admitted that there was a call from Malacañang asking him to “help Governor Ampatuan." “Gen. Senga said he did not order MGen Demaala to intercede for the release of said firearms. According to Gen Senga, he told MGen Demaala: ‘Tignan mo kung paano natin tulungan si Gov.’ He further told me that Malacañang called him up to help Gov. Ampatuan," said Querubin, who ran for senator but lost in the May 10, 2010 elections. Marine standoff On his application document, Querubin also narrated how he was “so disillusioned" with the Arroyo administration, following reports of cheating in the 2004 elections that he heard from other officers. “Without delay, I informed my chain of command about all the complaints. But to my astonishment and disbelief, I was told not to rock the boat and not to be naive. They told me, everybody cheated in the election and GMA (Arroyo’s initials) was the lesser evil," he said. He said he reminded his superiors of the AFP’s obligation to be neutral and nonpartisan. “Nevertheless, nobody did anything, even after we brought the matter to the Chairman of the Senate Defense Committee who was a former soldier," he said, referring to former Sen. Rodolfo Biazon. He said he also told Senga that some AFP and Philippine National Police (PNP) officers were planning to march with the people during the People Power anniversary on Feb. 24, 2006, to express their grievances and to question the legitimacy of the Arroyo administration. Senga supposedly ordered Querubin and other colleagues to talk to the junior officers to abort their plans. Querubin said the Marine standoff took place only after the AFP leadership removed their commandant, Maj. Gen. Renato Miranda, on Feb. 26, 2006, a Sunday, “without any proper turnover." - KBK, GMA News