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| Southeast Asia |
| Philippines: Andal Ampatuan facing murder charges |
| 2009-11-28 |
| [ADN Kronos] . (AKI) - Prosecutors in the Philippines on Friday were expected to charge the chief suspect in this week's massacre that killed 57 people in the south of the country. Andal Ampatuan Jnr, a local mayor and member of a powerful political clan, is currently being held in the capital Manila after he surrendered to the authorities on Thursday. Ampatuan Jr., son of the provincial governor of Maguindanao, was charged with seven counts of murder on Friday and justice officials said they expected to file more charges. As investigations were continuing into the killings, president Gloria Arroyo, a key political ally of the Ampatuans, gave the interior secretary permission to suspend all local officials in the province of Maguindanao who may have a role in the crime. Ampatuan Jr has denied any involvement in the killings, calling such accusations "baseless". "They are not true. My conscience is clear," he said before being flown out of the province aboard an army helicopter. Investigators believe the killings were politically motivated, ahead of the 2010 provincial and national elections. Meanwhile, a local mayor whose wife was among the victims killed in the ambush on the southern island of Mindanao, has filed nomination papers to run for governor. Ismael Mangudadatu, travelled with a heavy police and army escort on the same road where his wife, sisters, and at least 27 journalists were killed on Monday. Mangudadatu has now officially registered his candidacy for next year's elections. "Only death can stop me from running for governor," he told reporters after submitting nomination papers at a local election commission office. The victims of the massacre included 27 journalists and seven people who were not part of the convoy. Those seven were believed to have been killed because they witnessed the crime. Justice secretary Agnes Devanadera told local television that some of the gunmen detained after the attack had implicated the man now being treated as the chief suspect, Andal Amaptuan Jr. Several other people are being investigated including the police chief of Maguindanao, the southern province where the killings took place. |
| Posted by:Fred |