Philippines massacre 'carefully planned', says witness as trial opens

Wednesday’s testimony by Lakmudin Saliao, directly linked the trial’s main defendant, Andal Ampatuan Jr, to the planning and execution of the killings in the clan's former fiefdom of Maguindanao, an impoverished province in the south.

Saliao, 33, is a former trusted aide of the Ampatuan family.

The former mayor is accused of carrying out the killings on 23 November, 2009, of the relatives of a rival politician who had challenged him for the post of governor, and of 30 journalists and two drivers travelling in a convoy.

In his testimony, Saliao said he attended a clan leaders' meeting at the home of Ampatuan’s father, six days before the massacre to plan how to stop the rival.

He said that Ampatuan told his father, Andal Ampatuan Sr, that the rivals could be killed, before the father detailed how the killings should be carried out.

Saliao said he then stayed at the Ampatuan home on the day of the massacre, helping the father give orders to his by telephone.

He said he later heard the son tell his father over speaker phone how the son had stopped the rival's convoy and carried out the killings.

Saliao added that the father had wanted to spare the journalists in the convoy, but Ampatuan Jr insisted on killing them all to leave no witnesses alive.

Ampatuan, who is aged in his 40s and heir-apparent to one of the most powerful Muslim political clans in the south, faces life in prison if convicted.

His father is one of six Ampatuan defendants in the case. He had ruled Maguindanao for nearly a decade and wanted to pass on the governor's post to his son.

A total of 196 people are facing charges related to the massacre, although more than 100 of the alleged gunmen remain at large.

Nena Santos, a lawyer for some of the victims' relatives, welcomed the start of the trial, but added the Ampatuans remained powerful and could intimidate witnesses even from behind bars.

Saliao is expected to continue his testimony when the trial resumes next week.