'Maguindanao massacre victims begged for mercy'

MANILA, Philippines - Amid their cries and pleadings, massacre suspect Andal Ampatuan Jr. and several of his henchmen shot the victims of the Maguindanao massacre while lying face down and begging for their lives, a third witness for the prosecution said yesterday.

Abdul Abubakar Esmael, a 42-year-old corn farmer, alleged that Andal Jr. led more than 100 armed men in bringing victims to the hilly portions of Sitio Masalay, Barangay Salman, Ampatuan Town on Nov. 23, 2009 before attacking them in a shooting incident that lasted roughly one hour.

“Fire (at them),” Esmael quoted Andal Jr. as ordering his men clad in camouflage uniforms “similar to the uniform of the Army.”

Esmael said he had just harvested his corn produce and was about to go to a cornmill with his carabao, when Andal Jr.’s convoy’s passed by him at about 10:30 a.m. that day. These vehicles included white, red, and black vans, a UNTV service van, a red car, police cars, and hummer truck where a high-caliber gun is mounted.

Andal Jr. then alighted from his black pick-up truck and subsequently shouted at the victims while ordering about 20 of them to come down from their vehicles and lie in a prostrate position.

“Dapa (lie facing the ground),” said Esmael as he recounted Andal Jr. ordering “those in civilian clothing.”

“When they obliged, Unsay (Andal Jr.’s nickname) said ‘fire’ and then shot at them,” he added.

“They still fired at them (even if they were saying) ‘have mercy on us we didn’t do anything,” Esmael said.

During the cross examination of Andal Jr.’s lawyer Sigfrid Fortun, Esmael stressed that his client and henchmen were simultaenously firing at the victims. When Esmael reenacted the continuous sound of gun shots, Andal Jr. was seen laughing.

Amid the sound of the gunshots, Esmael said he saw some of the victims crying and pleading for their lives.

“The women and men were crying (and telling Andal Jr) ‘maawa naman kayo sa amin Datu, maawa naman kayo. Huwag niyo kaming patayin (have mercy on us Datu, have mercy on us. Don’t kill us),” Esmale recounted the victims’ plea.

From a photo gallery presented by prosecution lawyer Irwin Maraya, Esmael identified three of the victims – a woman and two men – who were killed. He said he was several meters away from them when he saw the shooting.

The witness described the lady victim as “medyo mataba at hindi masyadong matangkad (chubby and slightly tall).” Mangudadatu lawyer Nena Santos identified the woman in the picture of Rowena Ante Mangudadatu, a relative of her client.

Esmael, meanwhile, identified the two other men and said one of them was shot in the mouth while begging to spare him, while the other one was shot in various parts of his body by two men.

After witnessing the incident, Esmael said he got scared and ran away but was intercepted by the armed men following the orders of Andal Jr. One of the armed men, however, decided to let him go “since (he) was just a civilian.”

Esmael said he fled and hid in a bushy-area about 200 meters away from the site for fear of his life.

At least 57 people were killed in the carnage- including 32 journalists and the wife and relatives of now Maguindanao Gov. Esmael Mangudadatu. They were about to file Mangudadatu’s election papers when they were flagged down.