ABDUCTIONS AND KIDNAPPINGS
Ampatuan, Maguindanao,ARMM
Monday, November 23, 2009 10:00 AM...
Buluan vice mayor Esmael "Toto" Mangudadatu told ABS-CBN News that his wife, Jenalyn, some relatives, lawyers and several mediamen were on their way to file a certificate of candidacy on his behalf when the group of unidentified men forcibly took them in the municipality of Ampatuan, Maguindanao.
Mangudadatu, who is running for governor of Maguindanao, said some 30 media men who went to cover the event were also seized. He was able to talk to his wife over the phone after the abduction. But half an hour later, his wife's phone could no longer be reached.
Mangudadatu believes the abduction was politically motivated. Buluan vice mayor is appealing to authorities to take action on the incident and rescue his family as well as the local journalists.
-----------------------------
30 Bodies of Massacre Victims recovered
Monday, November 23, 2009 5:10 PM...
Phone patched interview with Buluan Mayor Ibrahim "Jong" Mangudadatu, relative of vice mayor Esmael "Toto" Mangudadatu confirmed that at least 30 bodies have been recovered as of Monday afternoon.
Bodies of at least 30 kidnap victims, including the wife and relatives of Buluan town's vice mayor, were recovered by government troops in Ampatuan town in Maguindanao province Monday afternoon.
The killings are the first reported violence related to the May 2010 polls, which are still 6 months away. Most of the victims are women. Some are members of the media.
-----------------------------
UNTV Reporters and Personels Victims Too
Monday, November 23, 2009 9:40 PM...
UNTV Television station manage Jay Sonza has confirmed that 4 of their employees from their General Santos City office were among those abducted and killed in the Maguindanao massacre, which left at least 21 people dead in election-related violence in Maguindanano, as the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) condemned the killings.
Sonza said of their 4 personnel, the bodies of Victor Nuñez, UNTV chief of reporters for Region XII, and McDelbert Arriola, cameraman, were already identified.
The fates of 2 other UNTV personnel, video editor Jolito Evardo and driver Daniel tiamzon, are still unclear, Sonza said.
-----------------------------
ARROYO ORDERED MANHUNT
Monday, November 23, 200910:10 PM...
Gloria Arroyo on Monday ordered the military and police to immediately pursue the perpetrators of the gruesome massacre in Maguindanao province related to the May 2010 elections.
She ordered Presidential Adviser for Mindanao Secretary Jesus Dureza, DOJ sec. Agnes Devanadera, DND sec. Bert Gonzales and Lt. Gen. Rodrigo Maclang, acting AFP Chief of Staff, to proceed to Maguindanao on Tuesday “to personally oversee military action against the perpetrators of these dastardly acts.”
-----------------------------
FOUR WITNESSES ARE SURVIVORS
Tuesday, November 24, 2009 11:00 AM...
Four survivors of a massacre that left at least 24 people dead in Maguindanao province have tagged their political rivals the Ampatuans as responsible for the murders, according to Buluan Mayor Ibrahim Mangudadatu who said the four witnessed the abduction of the group who were on their way to Shariff Aguak town for the filing of the certificate of candidacy (COC) of Vice-Mayor Ismael "Toto" Mangudadatu.
Buluan Vice-mayor Toto Mangudadatu is seeking the Maguindanao gubernatorial post, which allegedly did not sit well with their political rivals, the Ampatuans. The survivors were left behind by the convoy when their driver felt the urge to relieve himself.
-----------------------------
