The government said Sunday it had detained more than 60 people and seized a stunning array of weapons after imposing martial law in a southern province in the wake of a massacre. A total of 62 people were swept up in raids over the weekend, including 15 taken from a ranch owned by clan patriarch Andal Ampatuan Sr. where the military found a cache of powerful rifles buried in a grassy area, police said. Aside from Ampatuan Sr., who is former Maguindanao governor, the other arrested included Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) Gov. Zaldy Uy Ampatuan, Maguindanao Acting Gov. Sajid Islam Uy Ampatuan and Maguindanao Vice Governor Akmad Tato Ampatuan. Those arrested are being investigated for their alleged involvement in an armed resistance against the government. Police said they curbed the massing of pro-Ampatuan forces in several towns, mobilization of local government employees for a stand-off with government forces.. The government said the core members of the clan will be charged with rebellion. It wasn't clear if the rebellion charges will be added on top of the charges of muliple murder. The main suspect, Andal Ampatuan Jr,, the mayor of Datu Yusay town, have already been charged with 25 counts of muder while the elder Ampatuan and several others were indicted by the police for multiple muder. An indictment is a recommentation for the filing of charges. National Police spokesman, Chief Superintendent Leonardo Espina said another arms cache was discovered by police and military forces during a raid Sunday at a ranch owned by the Ampatuan patriarch in Datu Hoffer town. Army 601st Infantry Brigade commander, Col. Leo Ferrer, the Maguindanao martial law commander, said some of the newly recovered weapons and ammunition bore the markings suggesting that they came from the defense ministry arsenal and the Arms Corporation of the Philippines (Armscor), a private weapons maker, just like the previously seized weapons. Authorities said the decision to impose martial law in Maguindanao province from Friday night was needed to quell a rebellion by the clan. “Martial law (allowed) the security forces to really go after these suspects who are part of the rebellion, maybe some of whom are possible suspects in the recent massacre,” said Andres Caro, the national police chief of operations. The mass killings occurred on Nov. 23, when 100 Ampatuan gunmen allegedly abducted and shot dead female relatives of a rival politician, plus a group of journalists and civilians, in a remote farming area of Maguindanao. Before the massacre, the Arroyo government had supported the Ampatuans as part of its campaign to use powerful local clans to contain Moro rebels and for political support during elections.
