Philippine clan chief's son charged over 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.

At least 10 witnesses will testify they saw Andal Ampatuan Jr leading the gunmen, including police officers, who blocked his rival’s election caravan moments before the November 23 massacre, prosecutor Al Calica said.

Hours later, troops found the bullet-riddled and hacked bodies near the highway sprawled in the grass and hastily buried in three mass graves by a backhoe together with three vehicles.

Ampatuan turned himself in last week and denied the charges.

He is the scion of a clan allied with President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo that has ruled southern impoverished Maguindanao province unopposed for years.

His father, the family’s patriarch, and six other family members also are considered suspects but have not been charged.

Prosecutors said the killings were carefully planned and that more charges will follow.

At least one witness alleged that the Ampatuan clan had gathered in the patriarch’s mansion in the provincial capital of Shariff Aguak days before to plan the killings, said chief state prosecutor Jovencito Zuno.

The graves were dug in advance and a backhoe positioned to bury the bodies, prosecutors said.

The Ampatuans denied any responsibility in the killings in a rare news conference in Shariff Aguak on Sunday.