The principal suspect in one of the worst massacres in Philippine history, along with others - including police officers - who allegedly took part in the mass killings, pleaded not guilty Wednesday to a 57th murder charge.
Andal Ampatuan Jr., a former vice mayor and scion of a politically powerful clan, had already pleaded innocent to 56 murder counts stemming from the Nov. 23 massacre that targeted a convoy of journalists and supporters of his political rival.
Ampatuan and 16 other suspects were returned Wednesday to a special courtroom inside a maximum security prison in Manila to enter a plea in the case of the remaining victim, journalist Victor Nunez. The investigation into his death was completed only recently because of delays in identifying his remains.
Ampatuan is accused of leading more than 100 local police and militiamen in an ambush of an election campaign convoy of 57 people, including 30 media workers and supporters of a gubernatorial candidate in southern Maguindanao province. The victims were shot dead and buried in mass graves near a highway where they were stopped.
A total of 197 suspects have been charged with multiple murder counts, including family patriarch Andal Ampatuan Sr. and other members of the clan that has ruled the impoverished province for years. Sixty-four have been arrested and the others remain at large.
All those in custody who have been arraigned have denied the charges against them, including the 16 defendants on Wednesday.
"He was the one who did it so he should answer for it. He should be afraid of God," Catherine Nunez, the journalist's mother, told reporters after the younger Ampatuan's hearing ended.
The emotional trial opened in January but the judge suspended it the following month following a flurry of motions by defense lawyers.
The administration of newly elected President Benigno Aquino III has promised to punish those responsible. The Ampatuans were allied with former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, who stepped down last month.
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