Philippines imposes martial law in clan-held province after 57 massacred

Published on Saturday 5 December 2009 18:53

PRESIDENT Gloria Arroyo of the Philippines yesterday imposed martial law in one of the country's most troubled provinces after a spate of election-related violence by some of her own allies.

She ordered troops to take control of Maguindanao, on the largely Muslim southern island of Mindanao, after police arrested five members of the area's ruling political clan.

Detectives are questioning members of the Ampatuan family in connection with a massacre of 57 people, more than half of them journalists, last month. The Ampatuan effectively control Maguindanao and are allies of Ms Arroyo.

A government official said all civil rights in the province had been suspended and that the local military chief had taken over as governor.

The move, the first of its kind in three decades, came as reports that armed groups loyal to the local mayor, Andal Ampatuan Jnr, were massing to launch a rebellion after his arrest last week.

Ampatuan is the main suspect in the killings on 23 November when members of a rival political clan were attacked on their way to file the candidacy of one of their leaders for elections next year.

"These are large forces that could really undertake violent actions against anybody. By their sheer number, they are a threat to security," General Victor Ibrado, head of the armed forces, said.

Earlier, the Ampatuan patriarch was taken by security forces to Davao City where he later complained of chest pains and a headache and was moved to a private hospital. His son Zaldy, governor of the five-province ARMM region in southern Philippines, was also brought in for questioning.

They were both removed from Maguindanao to prevent violence and pave the way for an impartial investigation. Officials said government staff in the province have not been coming to work, most fearing reprisals from the Ampatuans.

The killings raised tensions ahead of the elections set for May and were condemned internationally. But Lieutenant-General Raymundo Ferrer, chief of the eastern Mindanao command, who took over as Maguindanao governor, said there was no need for a curfew.

He said martial law would allow security forces to conduct arrests and searches without warrants after local judges refused to issue such orders.

Soldiers found more than 100 boxes of bullets for assault rifles at a warehouse in Shariff Aguak, where an armoured vehicle, a Humvee, an army truck and three police cars were also kept. About 20 members of a civilian militia force were taken into custody by the army.

The Philippines previously suffered a decade of nationwide martial law from 1972 to 1981 under the corrupt dictatorship of the Ferdinand Marcos.