KORONADAL CITY, Philippines ? Ten days after the Maguindanao massacre, President Macapagal-Arroyo finally had the chance to sit down and sift through the details of the worst election-related violence that claimed the lives of 57 people, including 30 media workers, in the bailiwick of her major ally.

Ms Arroyo sat down with Interior and Local Government Secretary Ronaldo Puno, Presidential Assistant for Mindanao Jesus Dureza, Press Secretary Serge Remonde, Supt. Felizardo Serapio, Jr., the Western Mindanao PNP chief, and Lt. Gen. Raymundo Ferrer, the Eastern Mindanao Command chief, for a briefing, also heard by local officials and the media, inside the Southern Philippines Development Authority compound here.

In a Powerpoint presentation by Serapio, Ms Arroyo seemed to be digesting the details of the crime: what, where, and when of the murders.

From the time the military were informed of abduction on the hills of Salman in Ampatuan town at 11 a.m., to the arrest of two militia men at 1:30 p.m., and the military?s operation in the crime scene at 2 p.m.; and the 3 p.m. helicopter ride of Mayor Ebrahim Mangudadatu, Ms Arroyo looked dissatisfied with the initial moves of authorities.

?Why was there a five-hour gap?? she asked. Serapio did not answer and proceeded with his presentation.

Earlier in General Santos City, Ms Arroyo also visited the wake of journalists at the Collado Funeral Homes. There, she talked with the victims? families for at least 30 minutes.

In her visit to Koronadal City, Ms Arroyo squeezed in the ribbon-cutting ceremony of the P11.86 million-worth SPDA business center and groundbreaking of the P12.4-million?s 18-room business inn of the SPDA, before proceeding to separate wakes of four murdered Koronadal-based reporters.

In her conversations with the families of Hanibbal Cachuela of Punto News, Joel Parcon of Prontiera News, Bienvenido Legarta of Rapido News and Ernesto Maravilla of Bombo Radyo, the President pledged to hunt down the perpetrators of the mass murder.

?They will not escape justice,? she said to the widow of Maravilla, Ivy, who arrived Wednesday from Kuwait where she has been working as a domestic helper.

Ivy is left with five children ranging from 14 to a three-year-old boy.

Ms Arroyo promised jobs for mothers who were left to tend their young children; educational scholarships to children; and more financial assistance to the families who lost their breadwinners.

But Ivy is much more eager to pursue justice. ?Justice first, then the rest follows,? she said.

Ms Arroyo?s face looked grim at the sight of closed coffins. The victims? families then offered her a chair where they discussed government help. She asked for the background of the family, including the number of children the husbands left to their widows.

After the visit, she was mobbed by scores of happy faces of supporters who kissed and hugged her, as if nothing as bad as the murders had happened.

In Maguindanao, the capital town of Shariff Aguak virtually became under siege as more Army soldiers were deployed in key areas, including the mansions of the Ampatuans.

But Col. Michael Samson, commander of the military civil-relations group stationed in Shariff Aguak, said the military was trying to ?regulate? movements to prevent a situation when everyone is ?at risk.?

ARMM Solicitor-General Cynthia Guiani Sayadi said Army troopers posted outside the gate of the ARMM extension office where a number of officials have also been ?locked-in? for days now, were checking even on garbage disposed of daily from the compound. ?How are people allowed to exit when even domestic wastes are being scrutinized outside (by soldiers)?,? she asked.

Over mobile phone, a nephew of Maguindanao Governor Andal Ampatuan Sr. told the Philippine Daily Inquirer in the Maguindanaon said the killings had taken an emotional toll on Andal Sr. and Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao Gov. Zaldy Ampatuan. ?He (Ampatuan Sr.) has lost his voice due to sleeplessness, that?s why he apologizes that he cannot speak to you today,? Datu Ali Abpi, the governor?s nephew, quoted the official as saying.

He said Andal Sr. has been hurting ever since the killings happened, and much more when he had to surrender his son, Andal Jr., as a suspect to the crime.

Sayadi also said she learned from reliable sources that some operatives were under orders to pin other members Ampatuan family with other charges, including illegal possession of firearms and drug trafficking.

But she said charges of drug trafficking were ?unlikely to become a credible case, since it is of public knowledge in Maguindanao that the provincial government has been very strict on drugs.? It was said that a huge prison facility for drug traffickers and users had detainees that included young residents related to the clan for use of illegal substance.

She, however, did not rule out ?a situation? wherein operatives might ?barge in and probably, plant evidence to pin us down further.? ?But we are ready for that,? she said without elaborating.