Clan head arrested for election killings

Philippine troops arrested a former governor and three members of his family yesterday in the hunt for suspects in the country's worst political violence.

Andal Ampatuan snr, the patriarch of a powerful clan, and at least six other family members who have ruled impoverished Maguindanao province unopposed for years are the main suspects in the November 23 attack on a political rival's convoy in which 57 people, including 30 journalists, were killed. The family has denied involvement.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo put Maguindanao under martial law, allowing troops to make arrests without court warrants and restore order.

Arroyo can enforce martial law for 60 days, unless Congress revokes or extends it.

Soldiers seized a large cache of weapons and ammunition buried near one of the Ampatuans' homes in Shariff Aguak, the provincial capital. Raids on four residential compounds yielded only one shotgun, a few bullets and empty ammunition boxes.

Armed forces chief General Victor Ibrado said Ampatuan Snr, a three-term provincial governor - he was suspended after the massacre - and his son Zaldy, governor of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, which includes Maguindanao, were taken into military custody yesterday. Two other sons and five other men sought in connection with the massacre were also detained.

Another son, Andal Jnr, the local mayor, turned himself in last week and was charged with multiple counts of murder.

Reading the martial law proclamation on national television yesterday, Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita cited military reports as saying heavily armed supporters of the Ampatuans had "plans to undertake hostile action" if clan members were arrested.

Ibrado said the clan were a "threat to the peace and order of the province".

For several days, hundreds of security forces have surrounded the sprawling Ampatuan compounds to prevent the clan from escaping. They dug up mortar shells, machine guns, rifles and bazookas buried near the patriarch's mansion, said armed forces spokesman Lt. Col. Romeo Brawner.