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An army officer escorts Andal Ampatuan Jr, mayor of Datu Unsay town, after he surrendered in Ampatuan, Maguindanao in southern Philippines - Source: Reuters -
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The main suspect in the massacre of 57 people in an
election-related feud in the southern Philippines surrendered as
authorities moved to dismantle his clan's control over the
region.
Andal Ampatuan Jr, a local mayor in Maguindanao province, was flown
out by an army helicopter from the provincial capital, where he was
handed over by his brother to a senior government official and the
top military general in the region.
"The charges are baseless," Ampatuan later told reporters at an
airport in General Santos City.
"They are not true. My conscience is clear."
On Monday, about 100 armed men attacked a convoy carrying members
of the rival Mangudadatu clan, who were on their way to file the
candidacy of one of their family for the provincial governor's post
in elections next year.
The attackers herded the victims to a remote hillside and attacked
them with M-16 rifles and machetes.
At least 10 of those killed were motorists who were passing by
on the highway and had apparently witnessed the abduction.
Not all the victims have been identified but 22 of them were
believed to be journalists accompanying the family, making Monday's
attack in the troubled south the deadliest ever on the media
anywhere in the world.
President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has called the Ampatuans valuable
political allies in the past, but her government announced moves
against the family after the massacre sparked worldwide
condemnation.
"I am requesting the investigation of the provincial governor and
other mayors relative to this case," Interior Secretary Ronaldo
Puno told reporters, adding those officials should be suspended
while facing an inquiry.
Clan wars like the feud between the Mangudadatus and the Ampatuans
are common in the southern Philippines.
There are also many communist and Islamist rebels, bandits and
pirates there.
Paramilitary disarmed
Andal Ampatuan Sr, the patriarch of the family, has been elected
governor of Maguindanao three times.
He quit the post earlier this year and placed a son as officer
in charge.
Another son, Zaldy, is the governor of the Autonomous Region in
Muslim Mindanao, which covers six provinces.
Many other family members are mayors across the province.
On Thursday, soldiers took over town halls and the capitol building
in Maguindanao and disarmed a 350-member paramilitary force under
the control of the Ampatuans.
The authority of local officials to supervise police forces was
also revoked, Puno said.
The ruling Lakas-Kampi-CMD party expelled Andal Sr, Andal Jr and
Zaldy Ampatuan from the alliance.
"We feel that they have failed to exercise their moral and actual
authority over their clan members which is most probably the cause
of the incident," said Gilberto Teodoro, who is the
administration's candidate for the 2010 presidential
elections.
"We don't delve into their culpability under law but their
membership in this party ends."
Andal Ampatuan Jr will be brought to Manila to face a formal
inquiry and possible criminal charges, Puno said.
"We can assure that the province of Maguindanao is under control
and that lawful authorities are in charge, the investigation of the
incident is being conducted in earnest and those responsible will
be held accountable," he said.
