Supporters of ousted mayor burn town hall

COTABATO CITY - Supporters of a municipal mayor in Maguindanao burned down the town hall after a court ruled that he had lost the last election and should vacate his post immediately, authorities said.

The municipal hall of South Upi, along with the police station, was set on fire by followers of ousted mayor Jovito Martin who marched to the building with rifles, machetes and bows and arrows in hand, said Maj. Gen. Gregorio Camiling, commander of the 6th Infantry Division.

Elements of the 38th Infantry Battalion, backed by two Simba tanks, have been deployed to the area, he said.

Akay Derman, a leader of the mayor's partisans, owned up to the arson in an interview over Roman Catholic-run radio station dxMS. He said his men, who belonged to the Tiruray tribe, were protesting a court ruling which nullified Martin's election.

The court installed his rival in the May 1998 polls, Datu Israel Sinsuat, as the new mayor. It ruled that Martin's mandate was attained through fraud.

Judge Santos Adiong excluded in the recount returns from 46 precincts found by the National Bureau of Investigation to be rigged in Martin's favor. The recount gave Sinsuat a 907-vote lead over Martin.

Sinsuat was scheduled to take office yesterday. The arson occurred as he sought an accounting of local funds and property.

"We cannot understand why our mayor, voted by about 80 percent of the population, will be unseated. Our rights to choose our leaders are suppressed," Derman said.