Mangudadatuand 1 of 2 new witnesses to Maguindanao massacre die in ambush

COTABATO CITY – The prosecution of the deadly Maguindanao massacre suffered anew
another blow with the death of one oftwo new witness in Maguindanao Tuesday, Gov. Esmael Toto Mangudadatu today said.

Mangudadatu
said Dennix Sakal, former driver of ex-Maguindanao Gov. Andal Ampatuan Sr, and
Sukarno Butch Saudagal, former bagman of former Mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr, were
ambushed in Barangay Bagong, Shariff Aguak, Maguindanao at about 2 p.m.

Sakal died on
the spot while Saudagal was hit in his arm and is recuperating in an
unidentified hospital.

They were our
additional vital witnesses to the massacre but unluckily they were executed,”
Mangudadatu told DXMS Radyo Bida Cotabato.

Mangudadatu
said the two were on board a motorbike from Barangay Bagong on their way to
Buluan, Maguindanao to meet his lawyers to formalize their testimonies to the
massacre.

He said
Saudagal has already initially signed his sworn statement while Sakal was to
execute his formal statement.

I see no
other reason why they were killed but because of their desire to become state
witnesses,” Mangudadatu said.

Saudagal was a trusted bagman” of Ampatuan jr when he was still mayor of Datu Unsay town in the second district of the province.In Maguindanao, politicians traditionally have bagmen, who keep huge amounts of money, tagging along as they move around. I’m convinced the attack was meant to silence these new prosecution witnesses for good,” said Mangudadatu.Mangudadatu lost a wife, Genalyn, and several relatives in the massacre, the country’s worst ever election related violence.Mangudadatu said doctors have insinuated there is a possibility one of Saudagal’s arm, hit by a rifle bullet, could be amputated.Citing initial report from the provincial police, Mangudadatu, chair of the provincial peace and order council, said the victims were on their way to Tacurong City for a meeting with lawyers who were to help them testify against members of the Ampatuan clan implicated in the massacre. The country’s
worst political violence on Nov. 23, 2009 in Ampatuan, Maguindanao left 58
persons brutally killed, about 30 of whom were journalists.

The victims were in a convoy en route to the provincial capitol in Shariff Aguak town to file Mangudadatu’s certificate of candidacy for governor in the May 2013 Maguindanao gubernatorial race.Mangudadatu, then vice-mayor of Buluan, was to contest the bid for the highest elective post in the province of Ampatuan, favorite son of Andal Ampatuan, Sr., who, as provincial governor, ruled the province with an iron first and absolute intolerance for political opposition.Members of the Ampatuans’ private militia and policemen stopped the convoy carrying Mangudadatu’s spouse and companions at Barangay Masalay in Ampatuan municipality and herded into a nearby hill.The victims were ordered to disembark from their vehicles, gathered at one spot, where they were killed one after another with machine guns and assault rifles.