Manhunt for remaining fugitives in massacre case intensified

MANILA, Philippines - Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Nicanor Bartolome ordered policemen to intensify operations to arrest the 91 remaining fugitives linked to the killing of 58 people in the Maguindanao massacre in 2009.

Bartolome reiterated his directive after the arrest of Bong Andal, the alleged operator of the backhoe used in burying the victims in Barangay Salman in Ampatuan town, Maguindanao on Nov. 23, 2009.

“The arrest of Andal and other suspects now in custody manifests the firm resolve of the PNP to arrest and prosecute all suspects behind the mass murder,” he said.

The PNP chief expressed confidence that the arrest of Andal, considered a key suspect in the massacre, will further strengthen the case and eventually lead to the speedy and successful dispensation of justice for the victims of the massacre allegedly carried out by members of the Ampatuan clan and their henchmen.

The clan’s patriarch, former Maguindanao governor Andal Ampatuan Sr., several of his sons and relatives and members of their so-called private army were accused of killing 58 people in the massacre.

Among the dead were the wife of Gov. Esmael Mangudadatu and two of his sisters, two female lawyers and 32 media men who covered the supposed filing of certificate of candidacy of then vice mayor of Buluan town who would run for governor of Maguindanao and challenge an Ampatuan.

The Mangudadatus have accused the Ampatuans of masterminding the incident, specifically pointing to former mayor Andal Jr. of Datu Unsay, Maguindanao as one of the leaders of 100 armed men who abducted Mangudadatu’s supporters.

The Ampatuans denied the allegations against them.

Director Samuel Pagdilao Jr., chief of the PNP Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG), said Andal will be interrogated to help in the possible arrest of other accused in massacre.

Andal will soon be referred to Quezon City of Jocelyn Solis-Reyes, who ordered his arrest.

“He (Andal) will be routinely processed, which will include booking, medical check up and some questioning before he will be referred to the court that issued the warrant of arrest,” Pagdilao told The STAR.

A team from the Cotabato Police Provincial Office under Senior Superintendent Roque Alcantara arrested Andal over the weekend.

Massacre probers ambushed

Unidentified gunmen shot and seriously wounded two Army intelligence agents who were tracking down key suspects in the Maguindanao massacre after an ambush yesterday at the boundary of Esperanza and Isulan in Sultan Kudarat.

Col. Prudencio Asto, public affairs chief of the Army’s 6th Infantry Division, identified the wounded agents as Privates First Class Sammy Ali and Nickerson Susaya who are members of the 46th Infantry Battalion.

Ali and Susaya were wearing civilian clothes and riding tandem on a motorcycle on their way to Isulan when they were shot by the suspect, who was also riding tandem on a passing motorcycle.

Asto said the suspect used a cal. 45 pistol and shot Ali in the back while Susaya suffered a gunshot wound in his stomach.

Asto said the two agents also suffered contusions and bruises in different parts of the body when their motorcycle went out of control.

He said the two Army agents have actively been tracking down the remaining suspects in the massacre.

Intelligence units of the 6th ID and its component battalions and brigades mounted last week a renewed campaign against all suspects in the Maguindanao massacre in support of the efforts of the PNP to put them behind bars.        – With John Unson