Action plan

The military dug up a weapons cache near one of the Ampatuan houses and found enough arms and ammunition to equip an entire brigade.

That is not the end of it. Search warrants have been acquired to look for more weapons in the homes of other members of the Ampatuan clan. To date, five members of the powerful Ampatuan household have been named respondents in cases relating to the gruesome massacre that happened two weeks ago.

The “action plan” that Jess Dureza hinted at last week now seems to be fully unfolding. That “action plan” was not disclosed for obvious reasons. But we may now discern its elements.

The first element of the plan is clear. It involves disarming and disbanding the large civilian volunteer militia under the control of the Ampatuan clan. This is not a minor force. In the conduct of the massacre alone, it is estimated that a hundred armed men were involved.

The second element of the plan involves the replacement of the entire Maguindanao police force. That force might be considered corrupted. Members of that police force were reported to be at the scene of the massacre. Over the years, the police force and the militia units maintained by the Ampatuan family have become effectively indistinguishable.

As new police units are being moved into place, military units have taken control of the area. Both the provincial capitol and several town halls have been physically occupied by troops brought in from neighboring provinces. As of this writing, the capitol has been sealed by the military. Soldiers have also surrounded Ampatuan mansions around the capitol, apparently in preparation for serving warrants of arrest on other members of the clan.

The third element involves the preventive suspension of the local government officials of Maguindanao province. Virtually all the municipalities in the province are controlled by the ruling clan.

Ampatuan lawyers have filed a case with the Supreme Court questioning the authority of the national government to discipline local executives in the ARMM. Until the Supreme Court rules otherwise, DILG Secretary Ronaldo Puno has been instructed to take administrative control of the ARMM. Maguindanao was put under a state of emergency immediately after the massacre.

Ampatuan lawyers appear determined to use every legal recourse to prevent the action plan from being effectively implemented. Prime suspect Andal Ampatuan Jr. has filed for bail and a plea for a writ of Amparo has been filed by other clan members against military and police officials supervising the restoration of order in the locality.

The fourth component of the “action plan” involves the careful collection of evidence and testimonies. As the grip of the Ampatuan clan loosens, more and more witnesses are now finding the courage to testify about the massacre. One by one, vital testimonies to pin down the culprits are being collected.

The investigation into the gruesome crime involves all the investigative agencies: military intelligence, the CIDG and the NBI. The Secretary of Justice herself is directly supervising the prosecution effort. On most days, she flies to Maguindanao to collect witnesses and bring them back to Manila for protection.

The situation in Maguindanao is, to say the least, extraordinary. The effort to bring the criminals to justice must be at once comprehensive and sure-footed. The need for haste must be complemented with the strict observance of due process.

The collection of witnesses, for instance, could not happen had the Ampatuans retained control of their private army — and thus the ability to terrorize the local population. The ruling clan, to be sure, has not been idle over the past two weeks. The concealment of the weapons cache two days after the massacre attests to that.

Had the authorities responded in any other way that they had in accordance with the “action plan”, they might have tripped off a small war. Had skirmishes broken out, they would sure been bloody. We see from the quality of unearthed weapons that the privately-controlled militia in the area significantly outguns the military.

Had a small war broken out, we might have had to endure the sight of our troops retreating to safer quarters, taking a significant amount of casualties. That would have complicated the situation, considering the insurgent forces of the MILF along with an assortment of renegade armed bands are just in the immediate vicinity.

Had a small war broken out, the investigation of the atrocity might have been thrown into disarray. Under the cover of running battles, the culprits in the massacre might have found the opportunity to destroy evidence and eliminate potential witnesses. The situation on the ground could have turned unwieldy.

Instead, what we see now is that members of the Ampatuan private army have evaporated in disarray. The ability of the clan to reinforce its grip on the province has been degraded. At this point, most are confident that the investigation will proceed unhampered and justice will be found for the victims.

The national government had the option to do things brashly or to do things smartly. Government chose to do things smartly and justice will be won because of that.

In the first few days after the massacre, we heard the most irresponsible things from radio commentators and partisan talking heads. They were predicting that the crime would be covered up and the “untouchables” will remain untouched. The shrillest voice came from a radio commentator who should, from his own personal experience, have known it is unwise for police authorities to approach a case too brashly.

In the first few days after the massacre, the situation in Maguindanao was touchy and potentially explosive. One wrong move on the part of authorities could have sparked a messy conflagration. We must give credit to those in charge who made sure things were done smartly — and, because of that, effectively.