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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MANILA 000155 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/26/2020 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL KJUS KCRM RP
SUBJECT: MAGUINDANAO MASSACRE: LEAD SUSPECT'S TRIAL UNDERWAY 
 
REF: A. 09 MANILA 2548 (PRESIDENT ENDS MARTIAL LAW) 
     ¶B. 09 MANILA 2503 (AMBASSADOR CAUTIONS TOP OFFICIALS) 
 
Classified By: Charge d'Affaires, a.i. Leslie A. Bassett, reason: 1.4 ( 
b) and (d). 
 
SUMMARY 
------- 
 
¶1. (C) The murder trial is underway for a powerful former 
Mayor suspected of leading a gruesome November 23 massacre in 
Maguindanao province that left 57 people dead.  Two other 
members of his prominent family remain detained on charges of 
rebellion, although we understand one could be released soon. 
 The principal murder suspect, Andal Ampatuan, Jr., a member 
of Maguindanao's influential Ampatuan clan, pled not guilty 
to charges in a trial that began January 5.  In an early 
setback common in criminal proceedings in the Philippines, a 
prominent eyewitness recanted testimony that incriminated 
Ampatuan.  The authorities have replaced nearly all 
provincial police officials in Maguindanao, and the media 
named more police officials charged with murder in the 
massacre.  To aid investigations into the Ampatuan clan's 
vast private arsenal, Philippine police have requested U.S. 
assistance in tracing the weapons discovered in an Ampatuan 
cache.  Civil society groups in Manila continue to mourn the 
loss of the more than 30 journalists and media employees 
killed in the massacre, including several who received 
journalism training through a U.S.-funded program.  End 
Summary. 
 
MURDER TRIAL UNDERWAY 
--------------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) The criminal trial is underway in Manila for former 
Datu Unsay Mayor Andal Ampatuan, Jr., who is charged with 
murder for leading a gruesome November 23 elections-related 
massacre in Maguindanao province that killed 57 civilians. 
Ampatuan, Jr. pled not guilty to 41 charges of murder in a 
trial that began January 5, and is seeking bail.  Prosecutors 
have not yet filed charges in 16 remaining murder cases. 
 
¶3. (SBU) In January 13 testimony connected to Ampatuan, Jr.'s 
bail request (which remains pending as of January 25), Rasul 
Sangki, the Vice Mayor of Ampatuan town in Maguindanao 
province, told the court that he overheard Ampatuan, Jr. 
informing his father (then-Governor of Maguindanao Andal 
Ampatuan, Sr.) via radio that the victims had been gathered. 
Sangki claimed Ampatuan, Sr., replied: "You know what to do." 
 According to Sangki, he then witnessed the killings. 
 
COUNTERCLAIMS 
------------- 
 
¶4. (SBU) Around the time of Sangki's testimony, armed men 
burned down a portion of a village near a farm owned by 
Sangki; a Maguindanao official claimed publicly that this act 
was carried out by Ampatuan loyalists.  The press also 
reported that unidentified gunmen killed a cousin of Sangki 
and, in a separate incident, shot at the home of another 
relative of Sangki. Shortly thereafter, police official Anwar 
Masukat, another prosecution witness, recanted an earlier 
statement and claimed he had falsely incriminated Ampatuan, 
Jr. under duress.  Masukat claimed that, in fact, Sangki had 
led the massacre.  In an additional twist, Rasul Sangki's 
sister, who is married to a member of the Ampatuan clan, 
publicly supported the allegation against her brother, 
accusing also her father, Zacaria Sangki. 
 
¶5. (SBU) On January 22, the Philippine National Police (PNP) 
replaced all Maguindanao province police officials except the 
provincial police chief in a move was intended to increase 
public confidence in the continuing massacre investigation. 
This development took place after reports that millions of 
dollars in cash might have disappeared from an Ampatuan 
residence that security officials had searched recently. 
Seven police officials have also been charged with multiple 
murders for the massacre, but it is unclear when their trial 
may begin. 
 
OTHERS FACE REBELLION CHARGES, NO TRIALS SET 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
¶7. (C) Clan patriarch and former Maguindanao Governor Andal 
Ampatuan, Sr., and another son, former Governor of the 
Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) Zaldy Ampatuan, 
are detained in Mindanao on charges of rebellion, which stem 
 
MANILA 00000155  002 OF 002 
 
 
from their acquisition of a significant arsenal and efforts 
to block the massacre investigation.  Ampatuan, Sr., held at 
a Davao hospital while undergoing medical treatment, opposes 
his transfer to Manila for trial.  Authorities have not 
announced his trial date.   A senior ARMM official told us on 
January 21 that Zaldy Ampatuan is in a General Santos City 
prison with three of his brothers and has a court appeal 
pending.  The basis for the appeal, the official explained, 
is that the arrest warrant against him was served during the 
temporary period of martial law (Ref B) in Maguindanao and is 
therefore invalid.  Our contact predicted to us on January 26 
that Zaldy Ampatuan might face only minor charges and be 
released from custody in the near future.  Our contact 
claimed Interior Secretary Ronaldo Puno was concerned that 
Zaldy Ampatuan's long-term incarceration could cause the 
security situation in Maguindanao to degrade further, as 
Zaldy Ampatuan played a constructive role in coordinating the 
acts of local militia groups aligned against the Moro Islamic 
Liberation Front. 
 
INVESTIGATORS SEEK U.S. HELP 
---------------------------- 
 
¶8. (C) The Philippine National Police recently requested 
LEGATT assistance to check if weapons from an Ampatuan arms 
cache may have originated from the U.S.  LEGATT is working on 
the request.  The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) is 
also supporting the murder and rebellion investigations, with 
a leading role for the ARMM NBI chief, who received training 
several years ago through the U.S. Anti-Terrorism Assistance 
Program. 
 
CIVIL SOCIETY MOURNS 
-------------------- 
 
¶9. (SBU) Civil society groups continue to mourn the loss of 
32 journalists and media employees killed in the massacre. 
The "November 23 Movement," composed of journalist 
associations and free speech groups, held a mass vigil in 
Manila January 23 with victims' families.  Contacts told us 
that several of the journalists killed in the massacre 
participated in the State Department's DRL-funded human 
rights reporting project, implemented by the Institute for 
War and Peace Reporting from 2007 to mid-2009 to educate 
journalists on reporting techniques and ethics. 
 
COMMENT 
------- 
 
¶10. (C) It is unclear if the high-profile trial of Andal 
Ampatuan, Jr. will proceed on a reasonable timeline.  Lawyers 
for Ampatuan, Jr., are likely to employ typical defense 
tactics to stall proceedings -- ploys that can delay trials 
for many years, given the Philippines' creaky justice system. 
 Witness testimony in the Philippines is often unpredictable, 
and the disposition of witnesses in this case may prove 
especially erratic. 
BASSETT