MANILA - The main suspect in the massacre of 57 people, including about 30 journalists, was angrily mobbed by reporters at a hearing on Friday.Despite tight security, reporters were still able to shove pictures of their dead colleagues in Angel Ampatuan Jnr's face as he appeared before a judiciary panel over the November 23 election-related murders in Maguindanao.
Ampatuan, a town mayor and scion of a powerful political clan, merely smiled and appeared unconcerned despite the commotion as he was escorted, wearing a bullet-proof vest and handcuffs, into the hearing.
He merely looked bored during proceedings and even yawned several times as his lawyer, Siegfried Fortun, challenged the authority of the investigating panel.
It was only when he was being led out that Ampatuan showed a reaction when a reporter's camera lens hit him in the eye, causing him to cry out in pain, witnesses said.
Ampatuan and other members of his clan are accused of being behind the massacre of 57 people including relatives of a political rival, lawyers and journalists, in order to keep the rival from running against Ampatuan Jnr in elections in May in the southern province of Maguinanao.
The killings sparked global outrage and prompted President Gloria Arroyo to declare martial law in Maguindanao from November 4-12 as part of the crackdown on those behind the massacre.
Arroyo has since said that during the martial law period, more than 600 suspects were arrested, including the Ampatuan clan leaders, while over 1,000 high-powered weapons and 500,000 rounds of ammunition were seized.
However lawyer Fortun said that Ampatuan Jnr was waiving his right to present his own version at the hearing.
He charged that the proceedings were void because Justice Secretary Agnes Devanadera had already shown bias in the case, citing press interviews in which the minister was quoted as saying the government had strong evidence against the Ampatuans even before the investigation had been concluded.
Fortun threatened to file a suit in court to stop the proceedings.