MANILA, Philippines ? (UPDATE 5) Datu Unsay Mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr. fired the first shot that led to the November massacre planned by Andal Jr. and his father Maguindanao Governor Andal Sr., a witness told the court at the resumption of the trial against Andal Jr. Wednesday.

?It was Andal Jr. who fired the first shot,? Ampatuan vice mayor Rasul Sangki said during the hearing inside the makeshift courtroom at the Philippine National Police headquarters in Camp Crame.

Sangki, who claimed he was there when Andal Jr. and his men waylaid the convoy that carried family members and civilians of political rival Buluan Vice Mayor Esmael Mangudadatu last November 23, said the mayor used an M203 while Salibo Vice Mayor Kanor Ampatuan used a K3.

Mangudadatu was to file his certificate of candidacy as a gubernatorial candidate when the massacre took place. Andal Jr. was also eyeing the highest provincial post then.

Sangki said that shortly before the killings took place, Andal Jr. was on the ?iCom? radio with Andal Sr., informing him of the whereabouts of the Mangudadatu?s convoy.

When asked why he knew Andal Jr. was talking to his father, Sangki said the local official called the person he was talking to as ?ama? or father.

?Ama, andito na sila [Father, they?re here],? Sangki quoted Andal Jr. as saying.

Sangki said he heard Andal Sr. answer, ?Alam mo na ang gagawin [You know what to do].?

Sangki said he tried to talk Andal Jr. out of it but was brushed aside.

Sangki said that prior to the shooting, he saw Jimmy Pal-ap, one of the 31 journalists in the convoy, being pushed.

Sangki said Pal-ap tried to identify himself, saying, ?Datu, si Jimmy ito [Datu, this is Jimmy].?

Sangki said he did not see the reaction of Andal Jr. whose back was turned to him.

After the shooting incident, Sangki said there was an order for the ?finishing.?

Asked by the court what it meant, Sangki said, ?Yung mga patay na, pinabaril ulit sa mga ulo. Kahit saan na basta para di maka-survive [Those already dead were shot again in the head, anywhere to make sure that they won?t survive].?

At the same time, Sangki said he saw women who were still alive in one of the vehicles in the convoy but did not know what happened to them as he was ordered by Andal Jr. to go to the nearby Sitio (sub-village) Malating to tell the people there that they neither heard nor saw anything.

Sangki said that while on his way to Malating he saw the backhoe, with the words ?Province of Maguindanao, Governor Datu Unsay Ampatuan Sr.?, heading toward the massacre site.

Sangki disclosed before the court that he was part of the planning that took place last November 20, three days before the gruesome killings were carried out. He said he arrived in Maguindanao on the same day from Manila where while attending a conference received a phone call from Andal Jr. asking him to return to the province.

During cross-examination, lawyer Sigfried Fortun, asked Sangki why his affidavit about the incident was delayed, alleging, "You want to cover up for your men who were arrested and your uncle who was at the [crime] scene."

Fortun?s remark drew objections from the prosecution, which the court sustained.

But Sangki defended his inaction, saying he would have been rapped if he let the people know about the massacre.

He said that he also did not trust the police and military because they belonged to the Ampatuans.

He added that he did not report the matter to the Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats because this was the political party of the Ampatuans and that he did not know its leaders.

The prosecution will present six more witnesses aside from Sangki and lawyer Ric Diaz, counter-terror chief, who testified Wednesday.

Next hearing is on January 20.

A court observer, anti-crime advocate Dante Jimenez told media earlier on Wednesday that he found Sangki?s testimony ?very credible? and likened him to Jessica Alfaro, the witness in another massacre in the ?90s, whose testimony against prime suspect Hubert Webb, son of sportsman and former congressman Freddie, and several others led to their conviction.

?As far as I?m concerned, the vice mayor provided explosive declarations,? said Jimenez. ?He?s like Jessica Alfaro.?

Jimenez expressed confidence that the court would junk Ampatuan?s petition for bail.

?The evidence against Andal Ampatuan Jr. was just enormous,? he said in Filipino.

Jimenez said Sangki also identified other personalities who took part in the massacre, as well as the firearms used in the killings.

?There were several policemen who participated in the massacre according to the vice mayor,? he said.

Ampatuan pleaded not guilty last week to multiple counts of murder.

Among the dead in one of the worst political murders ever seen in the Philippines were about 57 journalists and pregnant women were killed.

Andal Sr. and several other clan members were arrested and charged with rebellion after martial law was briefly imposed in Maguindanao. No date for their court appearance has been set.