State of emergency in Maguindanao to remain until yearend, says governor

BULUAN, Maguindanao – The province will remain under a state of emergency at least in the remaining weeks of the year, according to Gov. Esmael Mangudadatu.

Although he wanted the state of emergency lifted as soon as possible, Mangudadatu said he had been advised by certain sectors to lift it only after normalcy had been fully restored in the province.

Maguindanao was placed under a state of emergency and later under martial law for two weeks after the Nov. 23, 2009 massacre of 57 people in Ampatuan town.

Victims of the massacre included Mangudadatu’s wife, lawyers, and members of the media.

The massacre, widely believed to be perpetrated by former governor Andal Ampatuan Sr. and his sons, was considered the worst election-related violence in Philippine history.

The killings have also earned for the Philippines the notoriety of being branded the most dangerous place for journalists.

The Ampatuans and several others are being tried for the murders by a Quezon City court.

Mangudadatu said he met last week in Manila with officials who urged him to lift the state of emergency next year.

The officials included Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Teresita Quintos-Deles and representatives from the defense and justice departments.

Maguindanao’s vice governor, Dustin Mastura, earlier said the lifting of the state of emergency would help rebuild investors’ confidence in the province. But Mastura said there should be no letup in the police and the military drive against private armed groups.

“We should also focus on the amicable settlement of rido (clan wars) among local families,” Mastura said.

Mangudadatu said officials in Manila agreed that security forces should remain vigilant even after the lifting of the state of emergency. He said the Ampatuans still wield considerable power in Maguindanao even if patriarch Andal Sr. is behind bars.

Mistaken identity

Meanwhile, a cousin of Andal Sr. is seeking the withdrawal of his motion for re-investigation of his alleged role in the massacre so he can be released immediately from detention after being wrongly implicated in the murders.

Datukan Malang Salibo said his being implicated in the massacre was a case of mistaken identity.

“Erroneously accused Salibo respectfully withdraws the motion for re-investigation which he filed before the Honorable Court on Aug. 23, 2010 for being academic,” Salibo said in his motion.

Salibo is detained at the Quezon City Jail Annex in Bicutan, Taguig City on orders of Judge Jocelyn Solis-Reyes of the RTC Branch 221.

On Nov. 9, Judge Briccio Ygaña of the Pasig City RTC Branch 153 granted Salibo’s petition for habeas corpus and ordered his release.

Ygaña granted Salibo’s petition after the latter was able to prove that he was on a pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia at the time of the massacre.

Salibo was arrested on Aug. 3, 2010 after personally reporting at the Datu Hofer police station to tell authorities that his picture was mistakenly used to identify another suspect, Butukan Malang.

Court officials said Salibo may eventually be released.

For one, the Pasig court noted that Salibo’s name was not in the Justice department’s list of 197 people indicted for the murders.

Salibo was also not included in the warrants of arrests issued by the Quezon City court.

Salibo, however, may have to wait a little longer before he is freed as Solis-Reyes has given the prosecution panel 15 days to comment on his case.

Appeal to MILF

With dozens of massacre suspects still at large, Task Force Maguindanao director Chief Superintendent Benito Estipona said 77 suspects and former militia members may have joined the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and appealed to the secessionist group to turn them over to authorities.  

Estipona said that during peace negotiations with the government, the MILF has agreed to turn over criminals and fugitives hiding in areas under their control.

“The MILF should not be hiding these suspects. We of course could not just go into their camps and arrest them as it could trigger more conflict,” Estipona said.

Estipona said the issue should be raised in the next round of the peace talks. He also appealed to Maguindanao residents to help authorities arrest the suspects.

“We are appealing to the residents of Maguindanao. We have already distributed wanted posters. We hope that the residents will cooperate with us in tracking down these suspects and arresting them,” he said.

Estipona urged anyone with information regarding the whereabouts of the suspects to get in touch with Task Force Maguindanao through mobile number 0917-552-8527. – With Mike Frialde, Sandy Araneta, Jerry Botial