Mangudadatu: Remains of other suspected Ampatuan victims found

A number of skeletal remains believed to belong to victims of the powerful Ampatuan family had been unearthed in Maguindanao province, Governor Esmael “Toto" Mangudadatu said Thursday. The skulls were found in some of the six sites in and around Shariff Aguak town — a stronghold of the Ampatuan clan — that Mangudadatu ordered excavated Thursday after receiving “tips" on additional evidence against the powerful family. Mangudadatu lost his wife and two sisters in the infamous Maguindanao massacre on Nov. 23, 2009, believed to be perpetrated by the Ampatuans and their private armies. A total of 57 people, including 32 journalists, were killed in the carnage. Mangudadatu said the remains found Thursday were victims of the Ampatuans’ “chainsaw massacre," or hapless civilians allegedly killed by members of the clan using chainsaws. “Iyan ang pinagpapatay nila sa chainsaw massacre (They were the victims of the Ampatuans in the chainsaw massacre)," Mangudadatu said Thursday of the skeletal remains. The government first learned of the alleged inhumane acts of the clan in 2008 through an anonymous letter sent to the office of then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. It is believed that the number of victims could reach as high as 200. The supposed killings were said to have begun in 1998, when clan patriarch Andal Ampatuan Sr. was elected governor of the province — a reign that ended only in 2010 with the victory of Mangudadatu, previously the vice mayor of Buluan town, in the May 10 elections. Mangudadatu said the first set of skeletal remains was found in a lot near a mansion owned by the Ampatuans in Barangay Bagong in Shariff Aguak. He said it was the same mansion where the Nov. 23 massacre was planned, as claimed by a long-time househelp of the Ampatuans. He said other excavating teams he deployed in the mountains of Maguindanao had likewise unearthed skeletal remains. “Kaya hopefully by tomorrow magkakaron pa kami ng (Hopefully by tomorrow we’ll have) additional evidence," he said. The Ampatuans, through their legal counsels, have repeatedly denied any killings, including the Nov. 23 massacre. - KBK, GMA News.TV