MANILA: The first witness to testify against a powerful clan member accused of leading a pre-election massacre of 57 people in the southern Philippines said Wednesday he saw the defendant and his family firing guns as victims knelt and begged for their lives.
The testimony came on the second day of the murder trial of Andal Ampatuan Jr., the top suspect in the Nov. 23 killings of journalists, relatives and supporters of a rival who was challenging Ampatuan for the governorship of Maguindanao province in May elections.
Ampatuan, the only one indicted so far in the deaths, pleaded innocent to murder charges at his arraignment when the trial opened last week. His father, clan patriarch Andal Ampatuan Sr., and several other close relatives have been implicated but not formally charged in the killings.
They also face separate charges of rebellion. Rasul Sangki, vice mayor of Ampatuan township, told the court he witnessed the killings after Ampatuan summoned him to a road checkpoint where police officers stopped the caravan in which the victims were traveling.
“I went with him because I was scared,” Sangki said. “If I did not follow him, he might get mad at our family.
He is feared in our province.” He said the victims were ordered at gunpoint to lay facedown and then were divested of money, cell phones and TV cameras.
They were then herded back into their cars and led to a hilltop clearing several miles away, Sangki said. Sangki testified that he heard Ampatuan speak to someone on a radio, saying “Father, they are here.” The voice on the other end replied, “You know what to do,” Sangki told the court.
As gunshots rang out, the victims pleaded for their lives and women screamed. One of the journalists pleaded with Ampatuan to spare his life, Sangki said. Armed with an M-16 rifle fitted with a grenade launcher, Ampatuan shot him as well as the sister and wife of his election rival, Esmael Mangudadatu. Sangki testified that two of Ampatuan’s uncles and a nephew, who also is a brother-in-law of Sangki, were among those who shot the victims.
