Across Asia: Philippines

Massacre witness testifies

The first witness to testify against a powerful clan member accused of leading a pre-election massacre of 57 people in the southern Philippines said yesterday he saw the defendant and his family firing guns as victims knelt and begged for their lives.

The witness, Rasul Sangki, told the court the victims were blocked on a highway and then taken to a hillside where they were executed. The testimony came on the second day of the murder trial of Andal Ampatuan Jr., the top suspect in the Nov 23 killings of journalists, relatives and supporters of a rival who was challenging Ampatuan for the governorship of Maguindanao province in May elections.