Don't blame GMA, Palace officials tell Mangudadatu

MANILA, Philippines - Malacañang rebuked yesterday Buluan Vice Mayor Esmael Mangudadatu for blaming President Arroyo for the violence sown by the Ampatuans when he testified in court on Wednesday.

Speaking on radio, Cabinet Secretary Silvestre Bello III said he does not know why Mangudadatu is blaming Mrs. Arroyo for the actions of the Ampatuans.

“It is not right to blame the President. The President had nothing to do with this political rivalry that started from both parties,” he said.

“The violence in Maguindanao was caused by a feud between two families, some of whose members are related to each other.”

Mrs. Arroyo kept out of their family feud because both parties were administration allies at the time, Bello said.

In a telephone interview, presidential adviser for political affairs Prospero Pichay admitted Mangudadatu’s allegations that he had tried to dissuade him from running for governor of Maguindanao.

“Of course, I was chairman of the (Lakas-Kampi-CMD) arbitration committee, and we followed the equity of the incumbent rule, so he cannot be endorsed at that time,” he said.

On the other hand, deputy presidential spokesman Gary Olivar said former defense secretary Gilbert Teodoro Jr. could have warned Mangudadatu based on the history of violence in Maguindanao that has always included bloody clan wars.

“These things begin with stories: ‘That person is violent when drunk, that person is trigger-happy, that person beats up his wife etc.,’” he said.

“So these kinds of notional evidence that may not necessarily be linked to specific law-breaking incidents could have been the basis of the warnings given by former secretary Teodoro.”

Mangudadatus seek more bodyguards

Vice Mayor Mangudadatu and his brother Troy Khadafeeh asked the Commission on Elections (Comelec) yesterday to assign more bodyguards to them.

Comelec Commissioner Lucenito Tagle said more than two bodyguards could be detailed for each of the nine members of the Mangudadatu clan who are running for elective posts.

“Considering the special circumstance involved in the request, we will see if it can be granted for two more additional security personnel,” he said.

“We will consider these threats in assessing whether we will grant you additional security detail.”

Tagle, Comelec Committee on the Ban of Firearms and Security Personnel head, said they will study the request of the Mangudadatus because the so-called Maguindanao massacre might be considered a “special circumstance.”

The Comelec will ask the police and the military to conduct threat assessment on the Mangudadatus, he added.

Search for Maguindanao governor starts

Interior Undersecretary Marius Corpus has announced that a search committee has begun screening the nominees for governor, vice governor and 10 provincial board members of Maguindanao.

Those who will be appointed in February shall serve until June 30 this year.

Speaking to reporters, Corpus said the search committee headed by Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) Interior Secretary Haroun Al-Rashid Lucman Jr. is now carefully evaluating the qualifications of some 27 nominees.

“Among the requirements of the search committee in selecting the acting Maguindanao governor is that he or she should not be running for any elective position in the coming May elections; has the capacity to govern and ability to effect reforms in the province,” he said.

The seven-man search committee is comprised of the Regional Legislative Assembly members from Sulu, Basilan, Tawi-Tawi, Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao and the mayors of Lamitan City and Marawi City.

ARMM Executive Secretary Naguib Sinarimbo said the committee will ensure that the acting Maguindanao governor shall have been named within the period allowed for the filling of positions under the rules promulgated by the Comelec. 

Once the acting governor shall have been named, Vice Gov. Nariman Ambolodto shall relinquish her post, he added.

Ambolodto was named acting governor of Maguindanao last December to avoid a vacuum in governance following the Nov. 23 massacre that claimed the lives of 57 people, including journalists, in the province. 

Andal Ampatuan Sr., one of those accused of being involved in the mass killing, was the governor of Maguindanao.

Corpus lauded the ARMM Regional Government headed by Acting Gov. Ansaruddin Adiong for instituting measures aimed at returning to normalcy and making governance effective in the provinces and local government units in the region.   – Paolo Romero, Cecille Suerte Felipe, Sheila Crisostomo