One of 3 backhoe operators in police custody

MANILA, Philippines - Police have taken into custody one of the three operators of the excavating machine that dug three mass graves of the 57 victims of the Maguindanao massacre.

However, Chief Superintendent Felicisimo Khu, Task Force Alpha commander, did not reveal the operator’s identity for his security and that of his family.

“He was just one of three operators of the backhoe,” he said.

“I have directed CIDG-Region 12 to get any statement from him that will have relevance to the mass murder.”

Khu said the two other missing backhoe operators were the ones who dug the graves and buried the victims.

“The three were employees of the provincial engineer’s office,” he said, adding the graves were dug on Nov. 22 and 23.

Military: 2 police officials stopped victims

Two police officials manned the checkpoint where the massacre victims were stopped and taken before they were killed, according to two Army officers.

Khu said a Major Navarro and Captain Reyes of the Army’s 601st brigade told investigators they saw Maguindanao police deputy director Chief Inspector Sukarno Dicay and Senior Inspector Ariel Diongon of the Provincial Mobile Group at the checkpoint in Sitio Masalay, Barangay Salman, Ampatuan.

“According to the Army officers, after they saw the massacre victims, Inspector Diongon also went up,” he said.

Khu said Dicay and Diongon denied seeing the victims when Navarro and Reyes asked them about the convoy.

“What happened was that after three hours, the Army went on patrol so when the Army unit passed by the PNP checkpoint, these officers were still there,” he said.

“They were asked if there were unusual incidents, if the convoy of this description passed. The two officers denied (everything).”

Khu said Navarro and Reyes were dispatched to the area to verify the kidnapping when they saw the police checkpoint along the highway.

“The military again asked the CAFGUs at the detachment and they denied seeing the convoy, and that made the soldiers suspicious,” he said.

“But one CAFGU at the detachment discreetly gave a hint that the convoy went up to the mountain, so the soldiers proceeded to the mountainous area.”

Khu said on their way to the area, the soldiers intercepted two members of the Civilian Volunteers Organization carrying unlicensed M16 and shotgun.

The militiamen led the military soldiers to the crime scene, where they saw the bodies of the massacre victims and their vehicles, he added.

Khu said the military officers arrested the two militiamen and turned them over to Senior Police Officer 2 Badawi Bakal, officer-in-charge of the Datu Ampatuan police station.

“What Bakal did was to release them to the custody of the vice mayor of Ampatuan,” he said, adding even Bakal was now detained at Camp Crame “because it was a wrong procedure.”

Police: 9 gunmen killed victims

At least nine gunmen killed the Maguindanao massacre victims, based on the 126 empty shells recovered from the crime scene, according to Khu.

“It was discovered that there were six M16 rifles used for the 126 empty shells. One M14 plus one AK47, it showed eight firearms used to fire these empty shells,” he said.

A shotgun was used to shoot media man Henry Araneta, police said.

Khu said they are still waiting for the result of ballistic tests on 21 more empty shells recovered yesterday morning.

“If you analyze the facts, van number 1, 2, and 3 have no bullet holes, meaning the passengers were directed to get out of their vehicles and they were killed outside the vehicles,” he said.

Khu said the other victims were shot by gunmen positioned about two meters above the mass graves.

“It’s only the Mangudadatu van and the van of Henry Araneta where the passengers were killed inside the vehicle,” he said.

Police also recovered three cellphones from the underwear of Genalyn, wife of Buluan town Vice Mayor Esmael Mangudadatu.

Khu said possible audio recordings on the cellphones could be used to strengthen the case against the suspects.

Two of the three recovered cellphones have been turned over to the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group and the third cellphone is in the possession of a lawyer of Mangudadatu, he added.

The camera of the UNTV crew remains missing, Khu said.

Meantime, police and troops raided the house of a police officer suspected of hiding firearms used in the Maguindanao massacre in Cotabato City at dawn yesterday.  – With John Unson, Roel Pareño, Sandy Araneta, Jaime Laude