Long-simmering feud erupts in violence

MANILA, Philippines - Military and police officials have tagged a town mayor as the leader of the armed men who snatched and butchered 43 people – including journalists and the wife of a vice mayor – in Ampatuan, Maguindanao yesterday.

Datu Unsay Mayor Datu Andal Ampatuan Jr., also known as “Datu Unsay,” reportedly led the armed men who blocked the group of Genalyn Mangudadatu, wife of Buluan Vice Mayor Ismael Mangudadatu, while they were en route to the provincial capitol in Shariff Aguak to file the vice mayor’s certificate of candidacy for governor.

Ampatuan, who is in his early 40s, was earlier rumored to be eyeing the gubernatorial post of Maguindanao, where his father, Datu Andal Sr., has been a political patriarch for years.

Sources from the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) police said provincial police director Chief Inspector Sukarno Dicay was involved in the murders.

“They were brought to a nearby hinterland where they were executed one after another. Some of the victims were beheaded,” said a ranking official of the ARMM police.

The Ampatuans belong to an old and powerful Moro clan in Maguindanao. Their ancestors fought the Spaniards as well as the Japanese during World War II.

Datu Andal Sr. first entered politics after the People Power Revolution in 1986, when he was appointed officer-in-charge of Shariff Aguak.

He was elected governor of Maguindanao during the 2001 local elections, defeating popular and eloquent lawyer Zacaria Candao.

The Mangudadatus are related to the Ampatuans both by blood and consanguinity.

Like the Ampatuans, the Mangudadatus also belong to a warrior clan. Both families are known for stockpiling weapons for protection and as status symbol.

Prominent Mangudadatus of Maguindanao include Sultan Kudarat Rep. Pax Mangudadatu and his son, Datu Suharto, who is the governor of Sultan Kudarat.