Maguindanao soldier recalls days leading to massacre

One of the soldiers who responded to the scene of the Nov. 23, 2009 massacre in Maguindanao province took the witness stand on Thursday and recalled his harrowing experience. “Naawa ako at napaiyak," Cpl. Zaldy Raymundo of the Army’s 38th Infantry Battalion told the court, recalling his emotion upon arriving at the scene and seeing more or less 21 bodies scattered on the ground. Raymundo was stationed at the military outpost at Sitio Masalay in Barangay Salman, Ampatuan town, when on Nov. 19, or four days before the massacre, he noticed a number of policemen and armed civilians setting up a checkpoint in the area. He said a certain Inspector Mukamad even approached him to ask permission if they could cook rice at the Army detachment while they were manning the checkpoint, which he estimated to be a kilometer away from the detachment. Raymundo said shortly before noon on Nov. 23, 2009, he heard several shots coming from a hilly portion of the village. He said he also saw a backhoe driving up to the area where the shots came from. At this point, Raymundo said he noticed that the policemen and armed men that manned the checkpoint were slowly leaving the area. It was during this time that an armed civilian approached Raymundo and told him to pretend that he saw and heard nothing. “Sinabihan ako ng CVO (Civilian Volunteer Organization member) na wala akong nakita, wala akong narinig. Kinabahan ako ng husto at takot na takot ako," Raymundo told Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 221. When the armed men were gone, soldiers from the Army’s 64th IB arrived. Raymundo said he told them about the shots he heard and together, they proceeded to the area where he thought the shooting occurred. Responding soldiers later said a total of 57 bodies were found at the site of the carnage, some of them buried. The victims included 32 journalists and relatives and supporters of then-Buluan Vice Mayor Esmael “Toto" Mangudadatu, who is now Maguindanao governor. The Mangudadatus are political rivals of the Ampatuan family, the clan implicated in the grisly massacre. During Thursday’s hearing, Raymundo was able to identify among the detainees brought to the court one of the men he saw manning the checkpoint. The suspect, clad in a yellow shirt and seated at the back of the gallery, identified himself in court as PO3 Felix Daquilos. Raymundo claimed that Daquilos was the driver of a pick-up truck that carried the CVO members to the checkpoint. Asked to if he could identify more suspects, Raymundo told the court: “Wala na po ako makilala kasi puro pumuti na sila." This elicited laughter from the gallery. Thursday’s hearing also marked the first time that all three detained Ampatuan clan members — patriarch Andal Sr., sons Andal Jr. and Sajid — showed up in court at the same time. — KBK, GMA News