THE patriarch of a powerful clan pleaded not guilty today to charges he masterminded the 2009 massacre of at least 57 political opponents and journalists in the Philippines’ worst election-related killings.

A family accused of massacring 57 people for political gain in the Philippines plotted the killings over dinner, a court heard today.

A funeral procession for eight journalists among 57 people killed in the Philippines' worst political violence was showered with flowers today, as security forces confiscated an entire armoury from a powerful clan suspected in the massacre.

Philippine prosecutors charged the heir of a powerful clan with murder today in the massacre of 57 people, more than half of them journalists or their staff who were accompanying the family and supporters of an election candidate.