Asia-Pacific
Philippines imposes martial law in massacre province
(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-12-05 16:15
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 Philippine police escort Zaldy Ampatuan, the governor of the autonomous region in Muslim Mindanao which covers six provinces, to the police headquarters, for questioning on the Maguindanao massacre, in General Santos city in southern Philippines December 5, 2009. [Agencies] |
GENERAL SANTOS, Philippines: The military chief in the southern Philippine province of Maguindanao took over as local governor after martial law was imposed on Saturday, following the country's worst election-related crime last month.
Police took five members of the Ampatuan political clan, including the patriarch who is a close ally of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, and other officials for questioning on the massacre of 57 people, more than half of whom were journalists.
Ampatuan Jr. is the main suspect in the killings on November 23 when members of a rival political clan were attacked while they were on their way to file the candidacy of one of their leaders for elections next year.
The Ampatuan family has ruled in Muslim-dominated Maguindanao for nearly a decade.
"These are large forces that could really undertake violent actions against anybody in the province. By their sheer number, they are really a threat to the security of the province," General Victor Ibrado, head of the armed forces, told reporters.
Earlier, the Ampatuan patriarch was taken by security forces to Davao City where he later felt chest pains and a headache and was taken to a private hospital. His son Zaldy, governor of the five-province ARMM region in southern Philippines, was brought outside his region to General Santos for questioning.
They were both taken out of Maguindanao to prevent violence and to pave the way for an impartial probe. Officials said government workers in the province, including judges, have not been coming to work, most of them fearing reprisals from the Ampatuan clan.
Martial Law
The killings raised tensions ahead of the elections set for May and were condemned by local and international media and human rights groups.
But Lieutenant General Raymundo Ferrer, chief of the eastern Mindanao command who took over as Maguindanao governor, said there was no need to impose curfew in the province.
He said the imposition of martial law would allow security forces to conduct arrests and searches without warrants after local judges refused to issue such orders.
Major General Gaudencio Pangilinan, deputy chief of staff, said in Manila: "Our job there is to return normalcy as soon as we can....Right now there is a complete breakdown of the function of the government in the area."
But political analyst Benito Lim told radio the measure was not necessary because the government had already deployed a 5,000-strong security force in Maguindanao, enough to quell any violence by the Ampatuans and their supporters.
