COTABATO CITY – A former town mayor and two of his aides were injured in an ambush in Guindulungan town in Maguindanao province in the restive Muslim autonomous region in southern Philippines, the military said.
Gunmen opened fire Wednesday on the convoy of Akmad Ampatuan, who was a former mayor of Datu Salibo town, and father of Maroph Ampatuan, the acting town mayor of Shariff Aguak, also in Maguindanao, according to Maj. Jo Ann Petinglay, a spokeswoman for the 6th Infantry Division.
She said the motive of the attack is still unknown, but troops have tightened security in the province.
Ampatuan’s convoy was heading to Shariff Aguak when gunmen attacked the politician’s vehicle. “The ex-mayor was slightly wounded in the hand and brought to the hospital in Shariff Aguak town,” she told the regional newspaper Mindanao Examiner.
No individual or group claimed responsibility for the attack, but Maguindanao has been the center of violence in recent months following a spate of gun attacks and killings perpetrated by rebels and armed groups actively operating in the troubled province.
The media watchdog National Union of Journalists of the Philippines said the ex-mayor is a witness to the massacre of dozens of people, including journalists and media workers in November 23, 2009 in Maguindanao.
It said the ambush on the politician, who is a relative of the those accused in the brutal killings, follows the murder of another witness, Dennis Sakal, and the wounding of another, Butch Saudagal, in Shariff Aguak town recently.
“It is clear that the slow pace of the trial, which has barely cleared the starting gate after more than five long years because of what have been characterized as delaying tactics, has allowed the continued intimidation, threats and assaults on witnesses and even relatives of the 58 victims, 32 of whom were our colleagues.”
“Worse, the most recent incidents appear to be the offshoot of an ongoing tug-of-war over witnesses, with both defense and prosecution claiming Sakal as their own, and reports alleging that Akmad had threatened Sakal in an attempt to have him jump ship from the defense,” the NUJP said.
It said the continued impunity with which witnesses and others involved in the trial are threatened and assaulted can only make justice ever more elusive.
“We reiterate our demand for government to fulfill its pledge of justice by ensuring not just a swift but, most importantly, a fair trial and to fulfill its obligation to protect everyone involved in the Massacre trial. The administration has acknowledged that this case will be a litmus test of its determination. Alas, it is a test it seems to be failing very badly,” it said. (Mindanao Examiner – With a report from Mark Navales)
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