Esmael Mangudadatu said his wife made one last mobile phone call to him just after she and the others had been abducted by gunmen. -- PHOTO: AP
MANILA - A POLITICIAN whose wife was massacred along with 56 other people in the southern Philippines tearfully recalled on Wednesday her terrified last words moments before she was killed.
Esmael Mangudadatu said his wife made one last mobile phone call to him just after she and the others had been abducted by gunmen, who were allegedly led by a rival politician, as they were travelling in a convoy on a remote road.
'She said: 'We have been stopped by so many men here. Armed men',' Mr Mangudadatu told a court hearing during the trial of Andal Ampatuan Jnr, the rival politician charged with multiple counts of murder over the massacre. 'Unsay (Ampatuan Jnr's nickname) is here. He struck me,' Mr Mangudadatu quoted his wife as saying, as he fought back tears. 'Those were the last words of my wife.'
Aside from Mr Mangududatu's wife Jennelyn, his pregnant sister and an aunt were in the convoy and were shot dead on Nov 23 last year in the southern province of Maguindanao. Also in the convoy were lawyers and over 30 journalists who were travelling to an electoral office where Jennelyn was planning to register her husband's candidacy to run against Ampatuan Jnr for the post of provincial governor.
In his testimony, Mr Mangudadatu said his clan decided to send his wife and female relatives to register for him because they expected a confrontation, but the police and military refused to give them escorts. Mr Mangudadatu said he thought Ampatuan Jnr would not harm women. 'Under Islam, women are given respect and are not harmed, regardless of religion,' he told the court.
Mr Mangudadatu broke down in tears at the witness stand when presented with pictures of his wife's body. Ampatuan Jnr, who has pleaded not guilty, sat quietly and occasionally conversed with his lawyers in the Manila courtroom as Mangudadatu gave his testimony. -- AFP
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