MAGUINDANAO MASSACRE: EVENTS, KILLERS, POLITICS, TRIAL

MAGUINDANAO MASSACRE

Investigators at the Maguindanao Massacre site

On the morning of November 23, 2009, a group of people including 31 reporters accompanied the family of Esmael Mangudadatu, a rival of the Ampatuans, a powerful political clan, to witness the filing of his election papers for the forthcoming gubernatorial election in Maguindanao, a province on the island of Mindanao in the southern Philippines. According to Reuters, “The convoy was attacked, leaving 58 dead in a massacre described by the International Crisis Group as “one of the worst acts of political violence in modern Philippine history, and the largest number of journalists slain on a single day ever, anywhere in the world.” About 100 armed men ambushed the convoy of vehicles on a lonely stretch of highway and drove them to the top of a hill before killing them all. Several women were raped before they were killed. Andal Ampatuan Sr., the patriarch whose family ruled poor and troubled southern Maguindanao for nearly a decade and hadclose ties to former president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, was charged with murder in February 2010, along with 197 others including his sons, other relatives, soldiers, police officers and members of a civilian militia. [Source: Thin Lei Win, Reuters, July 2, 2013]

The Maguindanao massacre, also known as the Ampatuan massacre after the town where the mass graves were discovered, was one of the deadliest incidents of political violence in Philippine history. The 58 victims were traveling to submit a certificate of candidacy for Esmael Mangudadatu, then vice mayor of Buluan, when they were abducted and savagely murdered. Mangudadatu was running against Andal Ampatuan Jr., the mayor of Datu Unsay and son of then-Maguindanao governor Andal Ampatuan Sr.. The Ampatuans were a powerful Muslim political clan in Mindanao, and the rivalry was part of the broader 2010 national and local elections. Those killed included Mangudadatu’s wife and two sisters, as well as journalists, lawyers, campaign aides, motorists, and other civilians—some of whom were either witnesses or mistakenly believed to be members of the convoy.[Source: Wikipedia +]

The powerful Ampatuan clan, which had ruled Maguindanao since 2001, was accused of masterminding the killing of 58 people in an attempt to prevent a rival Muslim political figure from contesting the provincial governorship. The victims were relatives and supporters of Esmael Mangudadatu, who were on their way to file his certificate of candidacy, along with at least 32 journalists who had joined the convoy to cover the event. The bodies were later discovered in shallow graves. Witnesses who testified during the trial in Manila stated that many of the victims were shot at close range, allegedly by Andal Ampatuan Jr., son and namesake of clan patriarch Andal Ampatuan Sr.. Although the official death toll stands at 57, another journalist, Humberto Mumay, is also believed to have been killed, bringing the total number of media workers slain to 34. Even before the massacre, the Philippines had already been considered one of the most dangerous countries for journalists. [Source: Jason Gutierrez, Agence France-Presse, November 23, 2010]

Mangudadatu, who was not in the convoy, won the governorship in 2010, several months after the massacre. His wife was in the convoy though. “They shot my wife 17 times,” Mangudadatu, a member of the Philippine Congress in 2019, told journalists in Manila around that time, choking back tears. “They shot her on her breasts, her private parts. Such unimaginable cruelty.” [Source: New York Times]

Background of the Maguindanao Massacre

Victims of the Maguindanao Massacre

The Maguindanao massacre highlighted the entrenched system of clan-based politics in the Philippines, where private armies often back powerful families competing for lucrative local offices. Violence has long marked political contests, particularly in the conflict-prone southern regions. In 2006, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo issued an executive order easing the formation of “civilian volunteer organizations” to combat insurgents—an action critics say inadvertently enabled political clans to strengthen private militias, estimated to number more than 150 nationwide in 2010. [Source: Norimitsu Onishi, New York Times, Sept. 8, 2010]

The Ampatuan clan had dominated Maguindanao politics since 2001. Andal Ampatuan Sr. first rose to prominence in 1986, when President Corazon Aquino appointed him officer-in-charge of Maganoy (now Shariff Aguak) shortly after the People Power Revolution. Unlike other local officials who were replaced outright following the revolution, the town’s elderly mayor, Pinagayaw Ampatuan, was succeeded by his vice mayor, Andal Ampatuan Sr. He later won the 1988 local elections and served for a decade before being elected governor in 1998. [Source: Jason Gutierrez, Agence France-Presse, November 23, 2010, Wikipedia]]

A member of Lakas–Kampi–CMD, Andal Ampatuan Sr. became a key ally of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo in Mindanao. His son, Zaldy Ampatuan, served as governor of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) and chaired the party in the region. Andal Ampatuan Sr. held the governorship of Maguindanao from 1998 onward, winning three consecutive terms without opposition. Eighteen of the province’s mayors were members of the clan. He attributed his dominance to popular support, claiming that constituents themselves urged him to field his sons for office. In the 2004 presidential election, Arroyo captured 69 percent of Maguindanao’s vote, and in 2007 her coalition achieved a 12–0 sweep of the province’s senatorial race. Barred by term limits from seeking reelection, Andal Ampatuan Sr. began grooming his son, Andal Ampatuan Jr., to succeed him as governor.

The Ampatuans maintained power with Arroyo’s backing, allegedly receiving support for a private militia reportedly numbering up to 5,000 men, which was used as a proxy force against Muslim separatist rebels. Human rights groups claimed Arroyo overlooked the clan’s violent reputation in exchange for delivering votes during national elections—an accusation she denied. As tensions mounted ahead of the 2010 elections, Arroyo, as head of Lakas–Kampi–CMD, attempted to mediate between the Ampatuans and the Mangudadatus, who belonged to the same party. Three meetings were held in mid-2009, including one hosted by then Defense Secretary and party chairman Gilberto Teodoro, who later ran unsuccessfully for president against Benigno Aquino III. Arroyo’s political adviser, Gabriel Claudio, later revealed that there had been an initial agreement “in principle” that no Mangudadatu would challenge Andal Ampatuan Sr. for the governorship.

Power of the Ampatuan Clan

Andal Ampatuan Jr., left, a former town mayor who oversaw and led the Maguindanao Massacre, here waiting with co-accused at a court inside a prison facility at Camp Bagong Diwa, Taguig city, Metro Manila, on December 19, 2019

Carlos H. Conde wrote in New York Times: The Ampatuans’ control of Maguindanao is almost absolute. Most of the province’s 36 towns are run by mayors and deputy mayors who are either sons, grandsons, cousins, nephews, in-laws or close allies of the senior Mr. Ampatuan, according to a study by the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism. “They were so confident with their power that they carried out something like this and believed they could get away with it,” said Kim Bagundang, a Maguindanao resident and president of the Liguasan Youth Association for Sustainable Development, a nonprofit organization, referring to massacre. [Source:Carlos H. Conde, New York Times, December 10, 2009]

“Since he became governor in 1998, Mr. Ampatuan has carved out at least eight towns from existing ones and named all of them after his sons and other relatives. The entire Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, which is composed of five predominantly Muslim provinces, including Maguindanao, is run by Governor Zaldy Ampatuan, one of his sons. The Ampatuans’ control of Maguindanao was enforced with guns and a culture of fear in towns governed by the family, residents and the authorities said. Many residents are afraid to talk at all about the Ampatuans. “No, no, no,” a resident in the town of Datu Unsay said when asked to comment on the massacre. “People here live in fear,” a driver who lives in nearby Cotabato City, said of Shariff Aguak. “No one will dare go against the Ampatuans.”

One factor in what experts have called the “culture of impunity” that the Ampatuans have enjoyed in Maguindanao may be suggested by the enormous billboards erected at infrastructure projects around the province lauding the accomplishments of the family. Almost all of them also thank President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo for her help in making the projects possible — highlighting the political connection between the Ampatuans and the central government in Manila. “The Ampatuan family dynasty has backed President Arroyo since 2001, and its rise to power is likewise attributed to Mrs. Arroyo’s support,” said Bobby Tuazon, an analyst at the Center for People Empowerment in Governance, a Manila nonprofit organization that has studied the political dynamics of the provinces. The Ampatuans, he said, were “an extension of Arroyo’s political base.”

In the 2004 elections, Mrs. Arroyo won resounding victories in Maguindanao; in at least three towns, her opponent, the late actor Fernando Poe Jr., got no votes at all, according to the official results. An independent election monitor found widespread fraud in the election that year. For the Ampatuans, as well as for the chiefs of other impoverished provinces, there are very lucrative reasons for chasing political patronage in Manila. Maguindanao is the second-poorest province in the Philippines, according to government statistics. It is mainly agricultural and has no industry to speak of. What it does have, however, is a lot of voters who can be delivered to national candidates in return for tax revenues and political patronage that can keep local politicians firmly in power.

Maguindanao Massacre Attack

location of Maguindanao Province

Buluan Vice Mayor Esmael "Toto" Mangudadatu invited 37 journalists to cover the scheduled filing of his certificate of candidacy (COC) at the Commission on Elections provincial office in Shariff Aguak. He said reports had reached him that his rivals had threatened to chop him into pieces once he filed his COC, and felt the presence of journalists would deter such an attack. [Source: Wikipedia +]

A local report stated that at about 9:00 AM, a convoy of six vehicles carrying journalists, lawyers, and relatives of Vice Mayor Mangudadatu left Buluan to file his COC at the Comelec office in Shariff Aguak. The convoy was composed of six vehicles: four Toyota Grandia vans (one grey, one green, and two white) owned by the Mangudadatu family; and two media vehicles – a Mitsubishi Pajero owned by DZRH broadcast journalist Henry Araneta, and a Mitsubishi L-300 van owned by UNTV. There was a seventh vehicle, a Grandia boarded by mediamen, but it lagged behind and decided to turn around once the passengers sensed what was happening. There were two other vehicles that were not part of the convoy but happened to be traveling on the same highway: a red Toyota Vios and a light blue Toyota Tamaraw FX. The Vios had five passengers: Eduardo Lechonsito, a government employee who was bound for a hospital in Cotabato City after suffering a mild stroke. He was with his wife Cecille, co-workers Mercy Palabrica and Daryll delos Reyes, and driver Wilhelm Palabrica. The FX was driven by Anthony Ridao, employee of the National Statistics Coordination Board, and son of Cotabato City councilor Marino Ridao. +

Before reaching its destination (about 10 kilometers from Shariff Aguak, four according to some versions), the convoy was stopped by 100 armed men, who abducted and later killed most or all of its members. There is evidence that at least five of the female victims, four of them journalists, were raped before being killed, while "practically all" of the women had been shot in their genitals and beheaded. Mangudadatu's youngest sister and aunt were both pregnant at the time of their murders. In a text message sent by Mangudadatu's wife to him, she identified the people that blocked their way as the men of Ampatuan Jr, and that he himself slapped her. +

Alastair McIndoe wrote in Time, “On a highway cutting through a banana grove, a large force of gunmen intercepted the convoy of family members and supporters of Buluan vice-mayor Esmael Mangudadatu. The Mangudadatu group was herded to what appears to have been a prepared killing ground in a hilly area a few kilometers from the highway. Television footage showed bullet-ridden bodies sprawled around the vehicles; others had been thrown into a mass grave and covered with earth. There are signs that the killing was done at point-blank range, using high-powered firearms. It is presumed everyone in the group died. [Source: Alastair McIndoe, Time, November 27, 2009]

An excavator located in the immediate vicinity of the carnage at Ampatuan town was identified as the instrument that was used to dig the graves of the victims two days beforehand, and then to bury them, including the vehicles. The perpetrators were not able to complete the job when a helicopter was spotted in the area. The excavator, emblazoned with the name of Maguindanao Gov. Andal Ampatuan Sr., was later identified to belong to the Maguindanao provincial government. +

Journalist Describes Events Before the Maguindanao Massacre

location of the massacre site in Ampatuan in Maguindanao Province

Aquiles Zonio wrote in the Inquirer Mindanao, “A few hours before the victims were abducted and slaughtered, we were enjoying a breakfast of "pastel" — a kind of stew — served to us by our host. An intense yet cordial exchange of ideas ensued as this reporter, Alejandro “Bong” Reblando, a Manila Bulletin reporter, and two other journalists discussed with ARMM Assemblyman Khadafy Mangudadatu the security concerns and the scenarios that may arise later that day. Ian Subang, a long-time friend and former colleague in the now defunct Gensan Media Cooperative, Subang and his group, including several other reporters, were gathered outside the living room of Mangudadatu’s mansion in Buluan town, Maguindanao. [Source: Aquiles Zonio, Inquirer Mindanaom November 24, 2009 *]

“They were waiting for the result of our brainstorming inside. There were just six of us in that discussion—Mangudadatu legal counsel Cynthia Oquendo-Ayon, Khadafy, Reblando, Joseph Jubelag, Paul Bernaldez and myself. We were insisting that reporters covering the scheduled filing of certificate of candidacy of Buluan Vice Mayor Esmael “Toto” Mangudadatu must be assured of their safety. Toto is eyeing the gubernatorial seat in Maguindanao. Toto had requested for security escorts from Chief Superintendent Paisal Umpa, Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) police regional director, but his request was turned down. He turned to the Philippine Army for help but his request was also denied. Had the police or military provided security escorts, the mass slaughter of defenseless women and journalists might have been prevented. *

“According to the Mangudadatus, a week before the massacre, there were massive movements of the Ampatuan’s armed followers—police, civilian volunteers and Cafgu members—in the area. Believing in the power of the media, Mangudadatu, who felt helpless then, asked help from the media. He requested several journalists— through Henry Araneta of DZRH—to cover the scheduled filing of his certificate of candidacy at the Commission on Elections provincial office in Shariff Aguak, Maguindanao. Araneta managed to invite 37 journalists from the cities of General Santos, Tacurong and Koronadal. “Maybe, they will not harm us if journalists are watching them,” Mangudadatu said. *

“Mangudadatu disclosed that he organized a group of women led by his wife, Genalyn, elder sister Vice Mayor Eden Mangudadatu of Mangudadatu town, Bai Farinna Mangudadatu, the youngest of the Mangudadatu siblings, and lawyers Cynthia Oquendo-Ayon and Connie Brizuela. The gubernatorial aspirant claimed reports had reached him that the Ampatuans had threatened to chop him into pieces once he filed his COC with the Comelec. “Under our tradition, Muslim women are being respected. They should not be harmed just like innocent children and the elders,” Mangudadatu stressed. *

Ampatuan clan mansion

“Mangudadatu claimed that the Ampatuans were considered above the law, warlords and political demigods in Maguindanao. But, he said, someone must come to the fore to bring about change and improve the lives of the Bangsamoro people. He said that women from Buluan should be the ones to file his COC, no security escorts, only journalists to avoid creating tension. Eden, along with his sister-in-law and younger sister, was in a jovial mood before the departure. She was saying that Muslim women should play a more active role in Maguindanao politics to attain genuine social change and economic progress. “This is women power in action. Let’s help our men chart a better future for the province,” she was heard as saying. We were confident nothing bad would happen as some of us in the convoy had been frequent visitors to the Maguindanao provincial capitol. Even while inside the vehicles, the group enjoyed each other’s company. There was no hint of the heartbreaking and vicious fate awaiting them.” *

Survivor of the Maguindanao Massacre

Aquiles Zonio wrote in the Inquirer Mindanao, “All in all, there were 58 persons—37 journalists, 16 Muslim women who hand carried Mangudadatu’s COC and five drivers—in the convoy. After several attempts, I was able to contact Major General Alfredo Cayton, commander of the Army’s 6th Infantry Division, through a mobile phone. He gave an assurance that the national highway going to Shariff Aguak had already been cleared and was safe for travel. He even added that police checkpoints littered the long route from Isulan town in Sultan Kudarat to Shariff Aguak. [Source: Aquiles Zonio, Inquirer Mindanaom November 24, 2009 *]

“Five convoy vehicles left Buluan around 9:30 a.m. Monday. The lead vehicle was an L-300 van of UNTv. Aside from UNTv reporter Victor Nuñez, his cameraman and driver, Paul Bernaldez and myself joined in. However, while the convoy was refuelling in Buluan, I decided to transfer to Joseph Jubelag’s vehicle to accompany him. Bernaldez followed suit. The five-vehicle convoy went ahead and we just told them we will follow right away. We decided to drop by BF Lodge in Tacurong City where we stayed the night before to get some valuables and meet some personal necessities. I didn’t expect that such digression would save our lives. I should have been there. I should have been killed together with them. *

“Two hotel attendants approached me and revealed that two unidentified men riding on separate motorcycles had left barely three minutes earlier. The hotel personnel claimed the two men were asking for the names of journalists covering Mangudadatu’s filing of COC. Luckily, the hotel management did not give any name. This made us change our minds and we decided not to go to Shariff Aguak. On our way back to Buluan, we tried several times but failed to establish contact with our media colleagues in the convoy. *

“Upon arrival in Buluan, the vice mayor told us that all the five vehicles had been seized by the Ampatuans’ armed followers. Not only journalists, family members, relatives and supporters of Mangudadatus were abducted and killed. Military sources disclosed that several other innocent motorists from Buluan and Tacurong City were seized and summarily executed on mere suspicion that they, too, were followers of the Mangudadatus. *

Philippines President Arroyo withAmpatuan clan members in 2004

“Out of the 34 journalists abducted and brutally killed, only 25 were identified. They were Ian Subang, Leah Dalmacio, Gina Dela Cruz and Maritess Cablitas, all of Mindanao Focus, a General Santos City-based weekly community newspaper; Bart Maravilla of Bombo Radyo-Koronadal City; Jhoy Duhay of Mindanao Goldstar Daily; Henry Araneta of DZRH and Andy Teodoro of Central Mindanao Inquirer. Neneng Montano of Saksi weekly newspaper; Alejandro “Bong” Reblando of Manila Bulletin; Victor Nuñez of UnTv; Macmac Arriola, UnTV cameraman; and Jimmy Cabillo, a radioman based in Koronadal City. Rey Merisco, Ronnie Perante, Jun Legarta, Val Cachuela and Humberto Mumay, all Koronadal City-based journalists. Joel Parcon, Noel Decena, John Caniba, Art Belia, Ranie Razon and Nap Salaysay. *

“On Monday evening, gory scenes of slain media colleagues kept flashing in my mind. I didn’t have a decent sleep, for the very first time in my life. Once again, several working journalists shed their blood in the name of press freedom. This, however, will not deter us or discourage us from doing our job as journalists. Underpaid and under threat, be that as it may, we will continue answering the call of our beloved profession.

Witnesses Detail the Mass Burial and How Maguindanao Massacre Plan Was Hatched Over Dinner

The victims of the Maguindanao Massacrewere taken to a hilltop, shot, and buried in mass graves; vehicles were also interred. When authorities arrived at the scene, according to the New York Times. they found cooking pots, indicating the gunmen had been waiting there for some time, and a backhoe with its engine still running. Blood-smeared pages of newspapers blew about in the wind.

In July 2013, the man who operated the excavator that buried the victims disclosed how the Ampatuan clan ordered him to carry out the act in an interview with the Philippines’ GMA News. Reuters reported: "Bong Andal, arrested in November 2012, told GMA News he arrived with his excavator after the killings to find a crime scene littered with bodies and a son of Ampatuan Sr. at the scene. According to GMA, he described using “his machine's large steel hand to drag bloodied bodies into freshly dug pits and crush vehicles with some of the dead still inside”. Andal said the Ampatuans threatened to kill his family if he got caught and in a written affidavit, He said Ampatuan Sr. called him prior to the massacre to ask if the backhoe was in good condition, GMA added. Andal, who fled the site after he heard a helicopter approaching, asked the government to put him under the witness protection programme. [Source: Thin Lei Win, Reuters, July 2, 2013 -]

paramilitary member on patrol in Central Mindanao

At the opening of the long-delayed Maguindanao massacre trial, a longtime housekeeper testified that the powerful Ampatuan clan had planned the attack during a family dinner. Lakmudin Salio told the court that six days before the killings, clan patriarch Andal Ampatuan Sr. gathered his sons and relatives to discuss how to stop political rival Esmael Mangudadatu from running for governor. According to the witness, Andal Ampatuan Jr. suggested killing them if they came to the province, and other family members reportedly agreed. [Source: Norimitsu Onishi, New York Times, Sept. 8, 2010]

The Ampatuans had one of the Philippines’s biggest private armies. According to the New York Times: Andal Ampatuan Sr., gathered his sons, brothers and other guests at the dinner table six days before the killings, said the witness, Lakmudin Salio. Mr. Ampatuan asked how they could pre-empt a political rival, Esmael Mangudadatu, from challenging them for the post of governor, according to Mr. Salio, who said he was serving food at the dinner as the family hatched the plan. Mr. Salio testified that Mr. Ampatuan’s son Andal Ampatuan Jr. replied by saying: “That’s easy. If they come here, just kill them all.” The father asked his other children if they agreed, Mr. Salio said, adding, “Everybody laughed, saying, ‘It’s O.K. for everybody to be killed.’ ”

Mangudadatu had sent female relatives to file his candidacy papers, believing they would be spared under local customs that typically exclude women from clan violence. Despite the massacre, he later won the governorship, though the Ampatuans continued to wield political influence in Maguindanao.

Maguindanao Massacre Displays Powerful Families at Their Worst

In Time, journalist Alastair McIndoe wrote that even in a nation accustomed to election-related bloodshed, the killing of at least 57 defenseless civilians marked a new and shocking low. While this part of the Philippines frequently draws attention because of its long-running Muslim separatist conflict, the massacre exposed a deeper national problem: the intense struggle for local dominance among a small elite of powerful families who control a disproportionate share of the country’s wealth—and the extreme measures some are willing to take to maintain power. [Source: Alastair McIndoe, Time, November 27, 2009 \~/]

The Ampatuans had long ruled Maguindanao, a poor province within the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. Esmael Mangudadatu had publicly spoken of receiving death threats after announcing his bid for governor and accused the Ampatuans of intimidation. Fearing for his safety, he did not join the convoy sent to file his candidacy papers. Instead, it included his wife, two sisters, other female relatives, supporters, and numerous journalists covering the event. As political commentator Manuel L. Quezon III observed, local custom traditionally spares women, children, and the elderly from clan violence. Nevertheless, 27 journalists, two lawyers, and 15 bystanders who had no connection to Mangudadatu were among those killed after being taken from nearby vehicles and executed.

Political killings, McIndoe explained, have long been used to eliminate rivals in local contests involving governors, mayors, and barangay officials—positions that often provide access to significant resources. According to Benito Lim of the University of the Philippines, many political families view such posts as personal entitlements. When rival clans fail to reach an accommodation, violence can become an option.

Authorities feared the massacre could ignite a retaliatory clan war, or “rido,” between the Ampatuans and Mangudadatus. In response, Arroyo declared a state of emergency in two southern provinces and a city, deployed additional troops, and revoked firearm permits in the area. Regional analyst Ian Bryson warned that while revenge attacks were possible, there remained hope that Mangudadatu might rise above the tradition of rido to prevent further bloodshed.

Although the two families were once allied and even linked by blood, tensions escalated in 2009 when the Mangudadatus challenged the Ampatuans’ hold on the governorship. The Ampatuan clan was widely believed to maintain a private army, with estimates ranging from 200 to 500 armed men. Warlordism, while not unique to Mindanao—Abra province is also notorious for political vendettas—has been particularly entrenched in conflict-affected areas of the south, where separatist rebels, militias, and criminal syndicates operate. Following the massacre, calls intensified for the dismantling of private armed groups.

Two days after the killings, the military began disbanding a 350-member paramilitary unit known as the Civilian Armed Forces Geographical Unit (Cafgu) in Maguindanao amid allegations that some members took part in the ambush. Such civilian forces, long armed by the state for counterinsurgency operations, had reportedly been used by the Ampatuans. The massacre also exposed concerns about local government influence over police appointments. Four police officers were investigated for possible involvement. Interior Secretary Ronaldo Puno described the situation as a “total misuse” of law enforcement in the area, warning that without stronger central oversight in Maguindanao and the broader southern region, similar abuses and lawlessness could continue.

After the Maguindanao Massacre

On November 24, 2009, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo declared a state of emergency in Maguindanao, Sultan Kudarat, and Cotabato City following news of the massacre. House Speaker Prospero Nograles urged police to swiftly identify those responsible and dismantle private armies. The Department of Justice formed a panel of special prosecutors to handle the cases. Nueva Ecija Representative Eduardo Nonato Joson warned that the killings could disrupt—or even jeopardize—the 2010 presidential elections, while candidates across the political spectrum condemned the atrocity. [Source: Wikipedia +]

On November 25, 2009, the executive committee of Lakas–Kampi–CMD voted unanimously to expel three members of the Ampatuan clan: Maguindanao Governor Andal Ampatuan Sr., ARMM Governor Zaldy Ampatuan, and Datu Unsay Mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr. for their alleged roles in the massacre. During an emergency meeting in Pasig, the party formally stripped them of membership.The following day, Andal Ampatuan Jr. surrendered to authorities through his brother Zaldy and was turned over to presidential peace adviser Jesus Dureza. He was flown from General Santos to Manila and detained at the National Bureau of Investigation headquarters. Police charged him with murder, which he denied, claiming he had been at the provincial capitol in Shariff Aguak at the time of the killings. He instead accused the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), particularly commander Ombra Kato, of orchestrating the attack—an allegation the MILF dismissed as baseless.

On December 4, 2009, through Proclamation No. 1959, Arroyo placed Maguindanao under martial law to prevent further violence and expedite arrests. Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said the move aimed to curb lawlessness. Authorities raided a warehouse owned by Andal Ampatuan Jr., seizing over 330,000 rounds of ammunition, a Humvee, and an improvised armored vehicle, and arresting 20 militiamen. Additional high-powered weapons were later recovered by Special Forces personnel. Martial law was lifted on December 13, 2009.

Arroyo appointed a retired judge to lead an independent commission tasked with dismantling private armies controlled by political warlords nationwide. The commission was authorized to use the military and police to disarm an estimated 132 private armed groups. In the crackdown, troops reportedly seized more than 1,100 assault rifles, mortars, machine guns, rocket launchers, armored vehicles, and over half a million rounds of ammunition from the Ampatuan clan. [Source: Mark Tran and agencies, The Guardian, January 5, 2010]

In November 2010, a yar after the massacre, Ampatuan Sr., Ampatuan Jr., and four other clan leaders had been charged and jailed, though only Andal Jr.’s trial had begun, raising fears of prolonged court proceedings. More than 100 of the 196 accused remained at large, and at least one key prosecution witness had been killed. By mid-2013, Reuters noted that bail hearings had dominated the trial, frustrating victims’ families, while several witnesses had been murdered. [Source: Jason Gutierrez, Agence France-Presse, November 23, 2010]

Human rights groups also pressed President Benigno Aquino III, who assumed office in 2010, to address the broader issue of private armies maintained by politicians. Organizations such as Amnesty International warned that the continued operation of such militias, some of which still received government support, remained a grave threat to public safety and democratic institutions. Meanwhile, at least three witnesses have been murdered and others talk of intimidation and threats by the still powerful Ampatuan clan.” [Source: Thin Lei Win, Reuters, July 2, 2013]

Trial of the Maguindanao Massacre

Prosecutors filed 58 murder charges against 198 suspects, including members of the police and military allegedly linked to the Ampatuan clan and involvement in the 2009 Maguindanao massacre, , though more than 80 suspects remained at large. Witnesses testified about burying the bodies, and several witnesses were killed during the prolonged trial.

Of the 98 individuals charged with murder in connection with the 2009 Maguindanao massacre, were Andal Ampatuan Jr., Andal Ampatuan Sr., and several other members of the Ampatuan clan. In April 2010, prosecutors dropped charges against Zaldy Ampatuan and Akhmad Ampatuan after they presented alibis, prompting protests from victims’ families. Senator Joker Arroyo warned that with nearly 200 defendants and 300 witnesses, the proceedings could take 200 years, while prosecution lawyer Harry Roque estimated the trial might last over a century. The Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility later observed that the case was continuing but progressing slowly. [Source: Wikipedia +]

On June 1, 2011, Andal Ampatuan Sr. was arraigned in a special court inside a maximum-security prison in Manila, 18 months after his arrest along with several relatives. After the names of the 57 victims were read aloud, he entered a plea of “not guilty.” By November 23, 2011—two years after the massacre—only Andal Ampatuan Sr. and his son had been arraigned, while roughly 100 of the 197 accused remained at large.

In January 2010, Andal Ampatuan Jr.—the principal suspect in the 2009 Maguindanao massacre—pleaded not guilty to murder charges stemming from the killing of 57 people. The Guardian reported that Ampatuan sat impassively in a makeshift courtroom inside Manila’s main police camp as a court officer read dozens of murder counts against him. Prosecutors said witnesses were prepared to testify that the then-mayor led more than 100 armed militiamen and police officers in stopping the convoy at a checkpoint, forcing the victims to a hilltop, and overseeing their execution and burial in mass graves. Ampatuan’s father, Andal Ampatuan Sr., the former governor of Maguindanao, along with several relatives, was also accused of involvement but had not yet been formally indicted at the time. All denied responsibility. Observers noted that Ampatuan Jr., appearing handcuffed and guarded, seemed detached during the proceedings. Dante Jimenez of the civic group Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption remarked that he appeared indifferent to the gravity of the hearing. .[Source: Mark Tran and agencies, The Guardian, January 5, 2010]

On June 28, 2012, the Court of Appeals rejected a petition by Anwar Ampatuan, grandson of Andal Ampatuan Sr., seeking to dismiss the 57 murder charges against him. He was arrested in August 2012, though his arraignment was later postponed by the Quezon City Regional Trial Court pending a ruling on whether sufficient probable cause existed. In November 2012, the Supreme Court of the Philippines, acting on a motion filed by Andal Ampatuan Jr., barred live media broadcasts of the trial but allowed proceedings to be recorded for limited real-time viewing and documentation. On March 4, 2014, prosecutors formally rested their case against 28 of the accused.

The Ampatuan clan had been instrumental in delivering votes for President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo in the 2004 elections, strengthening their political influence in Maguindanao, a largely Muslim province in southern Philippines. Although Arroyo’s aides acknowledged her political alliance with the family, they insisted it did not excuse criminal acts. Following the massacre, the Ampatuans were expelled from the ruling party, and the killings intensified concerns about potential election-related violence in the upcoming national and local polls.

Philippines Finally Convicts the Leaders of the Maguindanao Massacre

In December 2019, a Philippine court convicted key members of the Ampatuan clan for their roles in the 2009 Maguindanao massacre. Three brothers — Zaldy Ampatuan, Sajid Ampatuan and Andal Ampatuan Jr. — were sentenced to life without the possibility of parole for the killings of 57 people in the Maguindanao Massacre. The case involved about 100 defendants, most of whom the court acquitted.. More than 40 people were convicted, 15 of them as accessories to the killings. Fifty-eight people are believed to have died in the massacre, but the body of one of them — Reynaldo Momay, a journalist — was never found, and the defendants were found not guilty of killing him. His daughter, Maria Reynafe Castillo, said she had expected that. “The main perpetrators got life without parole,” she said. “I am happy with that.” This is justice,” Martin Andanar, a spokesman for the Philippine government, said after the verdicts. “It was admittedly a slow process, but we have to go through it as warranted by our democratic system.” [Source: Jason Gutierrez, New York Times, December 18, 2019]

Judge Jocelyn Solis-Reyes sentenced the principal accused, among them Andal Ampatuan Jr., to life imprisonment (40 years, the maximum penalty under Philippine law) and ordered them to compensate the victims’ families. Several other clan members and police officers were acquitted for lack of evidence, while about 80 suspects remain at large. The case, involving more than 100 suspects, dragged on for years, highlighting weaknesses in the Philippine justice system and the dangers faced by witnesses—at least three of whom were killed. [Source: Associated Press, December 19, 2019]

In July 2015, Andal Ampatuan Sr., the man who prosecutors say masterminded the Maguindanao died while in prison of a heart attack at age 74 after battling liver cancer. At the time of his death, Andal Ampatuan Sr. was still on trial for allegedly ordering the 2009 Maguindanao massacre. [Source: Floyd Whaley, New York Times, July 18, 2015]

International interest in the case has waned over the years, but Filipino reporters kept a spotlight on it because so many of their colleagues died in the massacre. The delays led the country’s Supreme Court to appoint a special court to focus exclusively on the case and expedite testimony to speed up the proceedings. Phil Robertson, deputy director of Human Rights Watch's Asia division, said that the verdict “should prompt the country’s political leaders to finally act to end state support for ‘private armies’ and militias that promotes the political warlordism that gave rise to the Ampatuans.”

Human rights groups, including Human Rights Watch, urged authorities to capture the remaining suspects and dismantle private armed groups linked to political clans. Families of the victims welcomed the convictions but warned that unless impunity and the proliferation of private militias are addressed, similar violence could happen again.

Ampatuans Live On

As of 2019, the Ampatuans no longer held top elected posts in Maguindanao, but official results showed at least 25 of them, including one of the principal defendants who is out on bail, won local seats in elections in May 2019. [Source: AFP, November 24, 2019]

According to the New York Times: Not all of the suspects have been accounted for. Eighty remain at large and are believed to be hiding in the south and likely still working with the clan, officials say. The national police have said they believe that those not in custody might be hiding in areas controlled by armed Muslim militants. [Source: Jason Gutierrez, New York Times, December 18, 2019]

The suspects who are still at large remain a continued source of worry. In 2019, a man who had testified for the prosecution, Basit Taguigaya, was killed in an ambush. Human Rights Watch called on the authorities to round up the suspects who are still on the loose, arguing that the families of the victims and witnesses are at risk of being attacked. “He was supposed to join me in Manila for the promulgation of the Maguindanao massacre case,” Mr. Mangudadatu told reporters recently. “No one has yet been arrested. Are the lives of those who testified also in danger?”

Nena Santos, a lawyer who represented Mr. Mangudadatu, said she had received more than a hundred threats to her life in the past decade. Most of the threats came through text messages, although she said she has been threatened in person, too. “Name it, I have received it,” she said, alluding to the threats. “In one instance I received a text message at 4:30 in the morning that said ‘the person who is going to kill you is already there at your house.’’’

Image Sources: Wikimedia Commons, Human Rights Watch

Text Sources: “Encyclopedia of World Cultures Volume 5: East/Southeast Asia:” edited by Paul Hockings, 1993; National Geographic, Live Science, Philippines Department of Tourism, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Natural History magazine, New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Smithsonian magazine, Encyclopedia.com, Times of London, Library of Congress, The Conversation, The New Yorker, Time, BBC, CNN, Reuters, Associated Press, AFP, Lonely Planet Guides, Google AI, Wikipedia, The Guardian and various websites, books and other publications.

Last updated February 2026