On July 8, 2009, Buluan, Maguindanao Vice Mayor Esmael “Toto” Mangudadatu was called to a meeting with then-Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro in Manila to discuss the former’s decision to run for governor. More precisely, the two talked about a complaint by Governor Andal Ampatuan Sr. that Mangudadatu was “hard-headed” (matigas ang ulo) and would not back down despite the fact that “the old man” wanted his son, Datu Unsay Mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr., to succeed him.
I gathered this small but important bit of information from Mangudadatu himself when he guested in the December 16, 2009 edition of the Club 888 Forum at The Marco Polo, Davao. He mentioned it almost in passing, as if it weren’t so important, but my ears caught it because of the connection it made between the administration and the Ampatuan clan.
Mangudadatu (right) at the Club 888 Forum with forum moderator Tony Ajero (left)
Mangudadatu was detailing the events that preceded the November 23, 2009 Maguindanao massacre, and he told of receiving reports of how the Ampatuan men — led by the governor himself — met a few nights before and planned the mass murder. “The old man was the mastermind,” he said. Governor Ampatuan had wanted the candidacy of his son, Andal Jr., to go uncontested, he said, and the old man would do anything to get rid of any upstart who would actually want to run for governor.
But before actually plotting the murders, Ampatuan coursed his frustration through several channels, including Teodoro. The problem was that Mangudadatu, himself no pushover since his clan is also influential, would not back out and was determined to run for the post.
And so it was that he found himself at the office of Teodoro on July 8, 2009. The topic was his candidacy, and that Andal Sr., a staunch ally of the administration, wanted him to forget the idea. The two prospective candidates — Andal Jr. and Toto — both belonged to the administration party (Lakas-Kampi-CMD), and it would be detrimental to the party for both of them to run for the same post.
I asked Mangudadatu if Teodoro asked him directly to back out, and he said no. “He could not do that because we were on the same side (Magkakampi kami).” But he also said he told Teodoro that he wanted merely to exercise a right that all Filipinos have: to run for public office. “I told him that no one can prevent another person from running for office,” he said. “I told him I must exercise my individual right to run.” In other words, the pressure from Teodoro to give up his ambition of becoming governor of Maguindanao was there, just that Mangudadatu would not buckle under it.
Why is this detail important? Because it was Teodoro brokering a deal between the two parties, accepting both as important elements of the ruling coalition. It was also Teodoro who was giving voice to Governor Ampatuan’s demand that he back out of the race, expressing to Mangudadatu what the old man’s wishes were.
Photo by Dann Pantoja
But when the massacre occurred, Teodoro was among the first persons not only to condemn the killings but also to practically declare the Ampatuans guilty of the crime. Just two days after the massacre, he had the governor, the junior, and another son — ARMM Governor Zaldy Ampatuan — expelled from the party without due process and without waiting for any investigation to be conducted properly. He even went with Mangudadatu when the latter filed his certificate of candidacy (pictured at the top of this page, photo from Sarangani Information Office). Teodoro rode on the prevalent sentiment against the Ampatuans and made sure he was on the right side of public opinion.
It was as if he was too eager to shake off his association with the Ampatuans, and rightly so: as a Presidential candidate, he could not afford to be linked to a clan accused of the worst act of election-related violence in the country’s history. And a link there certainly was: Teodoro was Defense Secretary during the time the Ampatuans allegedly amassed their huge firearms cache and strengthened their private armies. He may not have had a direct hand in creating a monster, but he had command responsibility over it.
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