The number of bodies recovered from the grisly Maguindanao massacre has now reached 46, an Army officer said Tuesday evening.
Lt. Col. Rolando Nerona, commander of the Philippine Army’s 46th Infantry Battalion, said 24 more bodies have been unearthed from the presumed massacre site at Salman Village in Ampatuan town in Maguindanao province before sundown Tuesday.
“Our last accounting showed there are 46 (dead) already," said Nerona. “Twenty-two were found above ground while 24 were dug up today."
Authorities had earlier recovered on Monday the bodies of 22 victims killed in the politically-motivated massacre. They were among a group of some 50 men and women, including lawyers and journalists, who were abducted by an estimated one hundred armed men reportedly belonging to the camp of Governor Andal Ampatuan of Maguindanao province.
They were about to file a certificate of candidacy in behalf of Esmael “Toto" Mangudadatu, vice mayor of Buluan town, who planned to run against Ampatuan’s son Andal Jr. for the gubernatorial post.
Chief Superintendent Josefino Cataluna, police regional director for Soccsksargen, said the police have already identified 20 of the fatalities.
Among them are Toto’s wife, Genalyn Tiamzon-Mangudadatu, and Toto's sister Eden Mangudadatu, the incumbent Vice Mayor of Mangudadatu town in Maguindanao.
Cataluna also said that survivors in the fateful incident have yet to surface as of posting time.
President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo placed the provinces of Maguindanao and Sultan Kudarat as well as Cotabato City under a state of emergency to prevent violence from further erupting following the incident.
The digging and recovery operations have been halted Tuesday evening due to difficulties of working in darkness, Nerona said. They were expected to resume Wednesday morning. – Aie Balagtas See/JV – GMANews.TV
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