Manila - Police officers and soldiers were involved in the mass slaughter of 57 civilians in the southern Philippines, the justice secretary said Saturday. Agnes Devenadera said statements from witnesses showed that many police officers, soldiers and government militiamen were involved in Monday' carnage in Ampatuan town in Maguindanao province, 930 kilometres south of Manila.
"Based on the statements we gathered not only four (policemen) were involved, there were also many soldiers and government militiamen," he told a local radio station.
Devenadera said more than 20 witnesses linked the principal suspect, Mayor Datu Andal Ampatuan Junior, to the crime.
She said at least three of the witnesses were among the more than 100 gunmen who massacred the civilians, mostly women and journalists.
"We have witnesses who can prove that before the incident happened, they were at the area where these Ampatuans were giving instructions on what to do and where to do it," she said.
"We also have witnesses who were there in the place when the victims were shot" she added. "They were bothered by their conscience because they knew some of the victims."
Devenadera said there was a strong indication that the massacre was planned.
Four police officers were placed under restrictive custody while undergoing going investigation, while two senior army commanders in the area were also being probed for their alleged inaction.
Eight relatives of the principal suspect were also being investigated for the involvement in the gruesome mass slaughter.
Among those under investigation are Maguindanao Governor Andal Ampatuan Senior, the father of the principal suspect; and Datu Zaldy Ampatuan, the governor of Autonomous Region for Muslim Mindanao, an elder brother of the suspect.
The main suspect, Ampatuan Junior, has been detained at the National Bureau of Investigation in Manila after surrendering on Thursday. Prosecutors were set to file a case of multiple murder against him on Tuesday.
According to witnesses, Andal Junior led a group of about 100 gunmen that stopped a convoy of a political rival and diverted them to a hilly area in Ampatuan town where they were killed.
The victims, six of whom were beheaded and shot multiple times at close range, were on their way to file the certificate of candidacy of Buluan town Vice Mayor Esmael Mangudadatu for Maguindanao governor in next year's elections.
They included Mangudadatu's wife, two sisters, two human rights lawyers and at least 27 local journalists who were covering the event.
Mangudadatu filed his certificate of candidacy earlier Friday.
Filipinos are due to vote for president, vice president, senators, congressmen and local officials in May. Elections in the country have traditionally been marred by violence despite additional gun restrictions imposed during the campaign and polling periods.
