Mangudadatu claims Zaldy Ampatuan behind killing of two politicians in 1995

Published January 23, 2013 3:33pm

At the resumption of the Maguindanao massacre trial, Maguindanao Gov. Esmael "Toto" Mangudadatu on Wednesday testified that one of those accused, former Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) Governor Rizaldy "Zaldy" Ampatuan, was behind the killing of two politicians in 1995. A report by GMA News' Maki Pulido on GMA News TV's Balitanghali said that Mangudadatu took the witness stand and disclosed that sometime 1995, he saw Zaldy gun down the two victims at a gasoline station in Cotabato City.

The same TV report quoted Mangudadatu as saying that when he asked Zaldy why he shot the two victims, the former ARMM governor said it was due to politics. Mangudadatu did not identify the victims.

He also said he did not report the crime to authorities back then out of fear. The crime remains unsolved, Mangudadatu claimed.

The report said that at the time of the supposed crime, Mangudadatu and Zaldy were political allies — the former a board member and the latter, an ARMM assemblyman. The lawyers of Zaldy did not cross examine Mangudadatu anymore, the report said.

Mangudadatu had taken the witness stand at least twice last year. On June 28, he testified for the civil aspect of the case, in which he demanded a total of P200 million in moral and exemplary damages. He also asked for a separate P2 million for the expenses he incurred for the funeral of his slain wife and two sisters.

During the same testimony, Mangudadatu also claimed that clan patriarch Andal Ampatuan Sr. had sent hundreds of government soldiers, policemen, and militiamen to attack his brother's house in Mindanao four months before the Nov. 23, 2009 carnage. Mangudadatu said he was only able to persuade the armed group not to attack because the group was led by his distant relative.

In his second testimony before Judge Jocelyn Solis-Reyes a month later in July 2012, Mangudadatu recounted receiving a call from his wife over mobile phone in which she and the people with her were being "abducted" by the group of suspect and former Datu Unsay mayor Andal "Unsay" Ampatuan Jr.

During the Nov. 23, 2009 carnage in Ampatuan town in Maguindanao province, Mangudadatu lost his wife and two sisters. Other victims included members of the media.

On Dec. 12 last year, Zaldy entered a not-guilty on the 58 counts of murder filed against him. The Ampatuan patriarch and his namesake, Andal Sr. and Andal Jr., have also pleaded not guilty to the charges. — with Amanda Fernandez and Mark Merueñas/RSJ, GMA News

Tags: esmaelmangudadatu, zaldyampatuan, maguindanaomassacre