Before they were mercilessly shot to death, victims of the November 23 massacre in Maguindanao province were beaten up first by prime suspect Andal Ampatuan Jr. and his men using the butts of their firearms, a witness told a hearing on Wednesday.
Former Police Inspector Rex Ariel Diongon, a co-accused in the case who turned state witness, was at the checkpoint at Sitio Malatin in Barangay Salman in Ampatuan town where the victims, who were in a convoy, were stopped by the suspects. At that time, he was head of the local police's Regional Mobile Group.
The convoy was composed of relatives and supporters of now Maguindanao governor Esmael “Toto" Mangudadatu, and several journalists. They were on their way to Shariff Aguak to file Mangudadatu’s certificate of candidacy (COC) for the May 10, 2010 elections.
Diongon, the prosecution's fourth witness, told Quezon City Judge Jocelyn Solis-Reyes of the Regional Trial Court Branch 221 that Andal Jr. wanted to prevent Mangudadatu, member of a rival clan, from filing his COC.
"Bring them to me"
"Maaaring hindi si Toto ang magfa-file. Baka may third party. Ang gusto ko, kahit sino ang magdadala ng COC ay maharang at dalhin sa akin," Diongon quoted Andal Jr., then mayor of Datu Unsay town, as telling him in Filipino.
(It’s possible that Toto will not file the papers himself, but whoever will do it for him, I want them picked up and brought to me.)
Diongon said after getting instruction from Andal Jr. in a meeting on November 19, he and his men, all clad in police camouflage uniform, trooped to Sito Malatin and set up a checkpoint. They were armed with high-powered firearms, including six M14 rifles, four M16 rifles, and one Garand rifle. He said most of the weapons were issued by Andal Sr., patriarch of the Ampatuan clan.
He said they manned the checkpoint from November 19 until November 23. During which, they ate food bought using money handed to them by Andal Jr.
D-Day
Diongon said on November 23, Andal Jr. and his private army arrived at the checkpoint on board 15 vehicles. When the victims’ convoy arrived, they were stopped and Andal Jr. allegedly ordered the passengers to get out of their vehicles.
"Nakita niya ang isa sa mga lalaki at tinusuk-tusok siya ng baril niya (He poked one of the guys with his firearm)," Diongon said, referring to Andal Jr.
The state witness said he recognized the victim as Andres Teodoro, a local journalist, who would eventually be killed along with 31 other media practitioners -- the most number of journalists killed in the Philippines in a single day.
Diongon said he knew who Teodoro was because the latter used to cover police operations in the province.
While being hit by Andal Jr. using an M16 rifle, Teodoro was allegedly shouting and begging at the same time: "Datu, huwag ako. Tauhan ako ni RG (Datu, don’t hurt me. I’m a supporter of RG)."
Diongon said RG stood for "regional governor," who at that time was Andal Sr. He said the younger Ampatuan continued beating Teodoro despite the pleas before proceeding to the other members of the ill-fated convoy.
Follow the leader
Diongon said Andal Jr.'s men then joined in mauling the victims using their firearms. He said he pitied one of the victims and told him to board the vehicle. The convoy was later brought to a hilly portion in Ampatuan town where they were shot.
The prosecution's second witness, Norodin Mauyag, in an earlier hearing told the court he saw Andal Jr. order the victims to lie face down on the ground. Like Diongon, he also claimed to have seen Andal Jr. fire a shot on the ground near a female victim.
But Mauyag did not mention anything about the prime suspect and his men beating up the victims with their firearms. – KBK
