MAGUINDANAO (Mindanao Examiner / May 11, 2013) – Opposition gubernatorial candidate Tucao Mastura has promised to unite all prominent Muslim clans and finally end the bloody cycle of violence in Maguindanao province as he winds up his political campaign on Saturday.
The former Muslim rebel and activist, said he had the backing of the Midtimbangs, Matalams, Ampatuans and Pandatus – the traditional families that once controlled the five towns of Cotabato – in his quest to become governor of Maguindanao.
“There will be less fighting, less rido (revenge killings). I did not want to be governor of Maguindanao but due to circumstances beyond my control I was thrust to the forefront,” Mastura said in a statement sent to the regional newspaper Mindanao Examiner.
“We thought all the while that there was going to be change when we toppled the previous administration, but everything is the same, in fact worse,” he said. “There are more killings, more harassment and fighting under Mangudadatu,” he said.
Esmael “Toto” Mangudadatu won on sympathy votes in 2010, a year after his wife, relatives and a group of journalists were among 58 people killed in a massacre allegedly carried out by his political rivals, the Ampatuan family.
The clan head, Andal Ampatuan, Sr and two of his sons are among nearly 200 people now on trial of the murder, the worst political killing of its kind in recent Philippine history.
The massacre allegedly was meant to stop Mangudadatu from contesting Andal Ampatuan, Jr in the gubernatorial race. Mangudadatu eventually own, but Mastura said three years since, the province remains among the poorest in the Philippines, with promises of economic recovery falling off the cliff.
“We are now among the poorest provinces, and yet we have one of the country’s richest governors,” he said.
Mastura, who is also a certified public accountant, challenged Mangudadatu to explain the source of his wealth. Documents filed with the local government showed that from 340,000 pesos in 2009, Mangudadatu’s latest net worth is now 390.6 million pesos.
Mangudadatu has said the monies were inheritance, but Mastura said there were no documents to show he paid any inheritance taxes over the past three years.
He said the clans did not want to intentionally isolate the Mangudadatu family, but stressed it was necessary that reforms be made in the province.
“Definitely he is now isolated. It would be difficult for him to explain his wealth,” he said.
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