“President Corazon Aquino, right after the Edsa Revolution in 1986, removed all the duly elected local officials and appointed OICs in their stead… It’s interesting how political camps that now call them “monsters” seem to have conveniently forgotten that they had something to do with how these “monsters” were bred to begin with.”

By Amina Rasul

Two major religious holidays are celebrated by the Islamic world: Eidl Fitr, the feast breaking the fasting month of Ramadan, and Eidl Adha, the Festival of the Sacrifice.

Eidl Adha, known as the Greater Eid, commemorates the willingness of Ibrahim to sacrifice his son Ismael as an act of obedience to God. God then miraculously replaced Ismael with a ram. Thus, Eidl Adha incorporates the ritual slaughter of a ram or goat to celebrate that sacrifice, one of the rituals during the pilgrimage to Makkah. On Friday, the Muslim World celebrated Eidl Adha. A week that should have been spent preparing for this greater Eid has become a week of pain and anguish, anger and frustration, for bereaved families in Maguindanao province, for all Muslims of Mindanao and for all Filipinos.

On Monday, 57 innocents were brutally massacred as a convoy was ambushed on its way to the provincial office of the Commission on Elections in Shariff Aguak in order to file the certificate of candidacy (COC) of Datu Ismael “Toto” Mangudadatu for governor of Maguindanao province. There had been death threats against Datu Toto, who is Vice Mayor of Buluan, Maguindanao. The Mangudadatus believed that women and media would not be harmed by their political opponents (as did we all). The vice mayor said, “We sent women because in the Muslim culture you don’t hurt women.”

The convoy, led by Vice Mayor Eden Mangudadatu and Toto’s wife Genalyn, was waylaid at 10:30 a.m. on Monday. Twenty-four women (including Toto’s wife, aunt and two sisters) were believed to have been raped before they were gunned down. Two were pregnant. Twenty-two members of media were also mowed down, making Maguindanao the most dangerous place for journalists, even compared to Iraq.

The principal suspect is Mayor Andal “Datu Unsay” Ampatuan Jr., son of Maguindanao Gov. Andal Ampatuan Sr. and brother of Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) Gov. Datu Zaldy Ampatuan. According to Datu Toto, his wife was able to call him to say that Unsay’s men had attacked them and one had slapped her. It seemed that at least 100-armed Ampatuan followers had waylaid the convoy.

The Mangudadatus and the Ampatuans are interrelated. Further, the two clans were very close friends and allies when Datu Pua, patriarch of the Mangudadatu clan, was alive. Datu Pua and Datu Andal were appointed mayors of Buluan and Maganoy (now Shariff Aguak) respectively by then-President Corazon Aquino. Together, the two leaders carved fiefdoms and were sought after by national and provincial political leaders.

How could such a monstrous act be committed, especially by someone who, until a few months ago, was a close political ally? We, in the areas of conflict, have almost become immune to the occasional political violence (threats, bombings where no one is killed, assassinations, disappearance of a rival). However, the inhumanity exhibited by the perpetrators of the Monday Massacre makes all of the previous violence pale into insignificance. The depravity and cold execution of such a monstrous and gristly act is on the same level as the Cambodian massacres or the annihilation of the Kurds by Saddam Hussein. If these were acknowledged as crimes against humanity, so should this Ampatuan Massacre.

If Datu Unsay Ampatuan is found guilty of the crime, one has to ask how he came to believe that he could get away with it. When did he start believing he was the Son of God? This we can lay at the doorstep of the Arroyo Palace. To secure political power, it would seem that she gave everything to the Ampatuans, turning a blind eye to complaints against them of corruption and political violence.

The Ampatuans started on its road to dominance, hitched to the political star of then-Trade and Industry Undersecretary Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, who aspired to return to her childhood home, Malacañang (the Presidential Palace). Mrs. Arroyo had a young staff by the name of Zamzamin Ampatuan, who introduced her to his uncle, then-Mayor Andal Ampatuan. The rest, as they say, is history. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo ran for the Senate and won overwhelmingly in the Ampatuan-controlled municipalities. With her support, Datu Andal Am-patuan ran for governor of Maguindanao and won. The patriarch of the Mangudadatu, Datu Pax, was the governor of neigh-boring province, Sultan Kudarat. GMA ran for vice president and garnered the lion’s share of the Ampatuan and Mangu-dadatu votes. Datu Andal and Datu Pax strengthened their hold on their bailiwicks. She ran for president and, against all surveys which showed that she was weaker than opposition candidate Fer-nando Poe Jr, stole the election with almost 200,000 votes against FPJs 60,000. All 12 of her senators won in Maguindanao, a feat unequalled in any other province.

At this juncture, Datu Andal had shown his capability in delivering votes—better than Datu Pax. President Arroyo, who would publicly acknowledge Datu Andal by calling him “Ama” or father, would anoint Datu Zaldy as ARMM Regional gubernatorial candidate.

Then-Presidential Peace Adviser Ging Deles, tasked to chair the “Search Committee” for ARMM candidates, ended the “search” by choosing the youngest among the contenders. A former mayor and member of the Regional Legislative Assembly, he was the least accomplished in a group of potential candidates that included the then-incumbent ARMM Gov. Parouk Hussin (a medical doctor), the ARMM Vice Governor and Education Secretary Aleem Mahid Mutilan (a PhD in Islamic Education), Datu Toto Paglas (at that time already regarded as a brilliant entrepreneur who had converted a depressed and conflict affected community into a progressive agri-business model), Marawi City Mayor Solitario Ali (popularly acknowledged as one of the best young mayors of Muslim Mindanao).

Next: Will Justice be served?