MANILA, Philippines?(UPDATE 6) President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo?s officials had repeatedly warned Buluan Vice Mayor Esmael ?Toto? Mangudadatu against challenging the political bid of the Ampatuans because they were a ?violent people,? the local executive himself told the court Wednesday.

Mangudadatu said that following his decision to run against Datu Unsay Mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr. for the governorship of Maguindanao, he was approached by Secretary Gabriel Claudio, presidential adviser for political affairs, then defense secretary Gilbert Teodoro, and former congressman Prospero Pichay on separate occasions.

Mangudadatu, who as of posting time is testifying at the resumption of the trial against Ampatuan Jr., said that Pichay called him last November 9 to ask if he was sure about running against Ampatuan Jr.

?He [Pichay] asked me if I was running, and I said, ?Yes.? He asked me if I was sure about my decision, and I said, ?Yes,?? Mangudadatu said in Filipino.

?Pichay warned me and told me to take care because they (the Ampatuans) were a violent people,? he said.

Mangudadatu said Teodoro issued the same warning last October 10 when they met at a restaurant in Manila.

?He [Teodoro] asked me if I was running, and I said, ?Yes.? He told me not to. I love you very much Toto [Mangudadatu?s nickname]. These people are violent,? Mangudadatu quoted Teodoro as telling him, referring to the Ampatuans.

Last August 11, Mangudadatu said he met with the Ampatuans in Malacañang to settle the issue. ?I was invited in Malacañang to have dinner with the Ampatuans.? It wasn?t clear, however, whether the President was there.

Mangudadatu said that as early as July, Claudio invited him and his relatives to meet Teodoro.

Mangudadatu said that in that meeting, also present were the Ampatuans ? Maguindanao Governor Ampatuan Sr., Ampatuan Jr., Governor Zaldy Ampatuan of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, Sajid Ampatuan, Saudi Ampatuan ? and Congressman Simeon Datumanong.

He said that this was the first instance wherein they were asked to settle the issue.

He said his brother even requested that Maguindanao?s chief of police, Sukarno Dikay, and Colonel Medardo Geslani, head of the 601st Infantry Batallion, be replaced.

Mangudadatu said that although Teodoro assured him that this would be looked into, nothing happened.

Mangudadatu said the repeated warning for his safety was the reason why he requested for military and police escort last November 23 when his wife, lawyers, and supporters were to file his certificate of candidacy for him in Shariff Aguak.

?Sabi niya [referring to Colonel Medardo Geslani] nasa Maynila ang mga tao nya para sa seminar [He said his people were in Manila for a seminar],? Mangudadatu said, adding that his request was also rejected by police.

?Nagpasya kami na mga babae ang ipadala para maghain ng COC dahil sa Islam, ang babae ay binibigyan ng malaking respeto at hindi sinasaktan, gaya sa ibang relihiyon [We decided to send women to file the CoC because in Islam, the women are given the greatest respect and they are not hurt, like those in other religions],? Mangudadatu said.

Mangudadatu recalled that on the fateful day, at around 10 a.m., his mobile phone rang. It was his wife Genalyn calling.

?She told me that they have been blocked by a lot of men in the area. I asked her who they were. She said they were armed. She said that Unsay was there and that he slapped her. That was the last time I heard from my wife. I called her again and my other relatives who were with her in the convoy but no one answered,? said Mangudadatu in Filipino.

He said he then called Dicay to inform him that his wife was kidnapped.

Mangudadatu said Dicay told him that he did not know anything.

Mangudadatu said that his family and Ampatuan clan once had close family relations.

?I know him [Andal Ampatuan Jr.] well for more than 10 years. Our families were very close,? Mangudadatu said.

He said he decided to veer away from the Ampatuan after they figured in on the killing of certain Datu Ipao in 2008.

Mangudadatu said that as early as 2006, he had plans of vying for the governorship. But Ampatuan Sr. told him not to run and that instead, he would be given a province of his own.

?He [Ampatuan Sr.] asked me to produce the necessary requirements. Unfortunately, we failed to meet the requirements [stated under the law for the creation of a new province],? Mangudadatu said.

In 2006, upon the creation of the province of Shariff Kabunsuan, Mangudadatu said, by law, his brother Freddie, then, head of the Sangguniang Bayan, was supposed to sit as vice governor.

But Mangudadatu said Andal Sr. told him that he was supposed to occupy the position, not his brother.

Because of this, Mangudadatu said Andal Sr. issued a resolution stating that his brother was not qualified for the position due to lack of education and experience.

?I told him, ?Apo [Andal Sr.], my brother was able to study, three terms as board member.??

?I told him ?Apo change what has been put in writing [referring to the resolution] because it hurts a lot,?? Mangudadatu said.

?Pero wala kaming nagawa, ako, ang nanay ko, ang kapatid ko [But we weren?t able to do anything, my mother, my brother]. My brother was forced to sign the resolution.?

?Bakit wala kayong nagawa [Why weren?t you able to do anything]?? asked Department of Justice Senior State Prosecutor Leo Dacera.

?Dahil napakaraming bodyguard sa compound nila [Because there were a lot of bodyguards in their compound],? he said.

But in exchange for the signing of the resolution, he said they asked that they be given two municipalities, Mangudadatu said, adding that ARMM Governor Ampatuan has the authority to do so.

Two municipalities were created where his brothers Freddie Mangudadatu and Sajib Mangudadatu sat as mayors, he said.

In 2007, Mangudadatu said that news reached Andal Sr. that he was still considering running as governor. He said the ?old man? visited him.

This time, his uncle, Congressman Pax Mangudadatu told him not to fight the old man.

?Sabi ko hindi na po [I told him, no more],? Mangudadatu said.

A year later, due to the prodding of his constituents, Mangudadatu said he decided to push through with his political plan.

Mangudadatu said that following his decision, the Provincial Director of Maguindanao on Oct. 18, 2008 confiscated the firearms of the police in his municipality, saying it was for inventory purposes only.

On July 8, 2009, Maguindanao Chief of Police Dicay along with members of the 76th Infantry Battalion and 601st IB entered Pandan Municipality and disarmed the police officers. They also fired a series of shots from a 105-millimeter howitzer, causing the public to panic.

Mangudadatu said that when he asked Dicay about what he did, the police chief told him that they were looking for Umbra Kato, head of the breakaway group of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.

A day later, Mangudadatu said he personally met with President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in Guagua, Pampanga and told him of his problem in his municipality.

?She immediately called General [Victor] Ibrado and ordered that the firearms be returned to the police and told him that the people in Mangudadatu were peace loving,? he said.

Mangudadatu is scheduled to return next week for his cross examination.

In an earlier testimony on Wednesday, Mohamad Sangki, a member of the Sangguniang Bayan of Datu Abdullah Sangki, testified that ARMM Governor Ampatuan supported the plan to ambush the convoy of Mangudadatu in November 23.

Sangki said he was informed by Datu Noradin Datumanong Ampatuan last November 20 that the ARMM governor attended a meeting with Nori Unas, the provincial administrator of Maguindanao, Ampatuan Jr., and other ranking officials.

?I asked him [Noradin Ampatuan] about how strong our action was going to be? He said he just came from a party convention in Manila. Argee, Nori and the old man, together with other ranking officials, they all support the old man,? Sangki said.

When the prosecutor asked who Nori was, Sangki identified him as the provincial administrator of Maguindanao.

When the prosecutor asked again who Argee was, Sangki said it was ?Zaldy,? referring to the ARMM governor.

And when the prosecutor asked who the ?old man was,? Sangki said, ?It was Andal Sr.?

Sangki said that Datu Bahnarin Ampatuan also spoke to him last November 19.

?It was the wish of the old man [Ampatuan Sr.] to deploy auxiliary police in Maguindanao,? Sangki quoted Bahnarin Ampatuan as telling him.

Sangki said he was accompanied by the Mamasapano mayor to meet Ampatuan Jr. and was given P15,000 for the deployment of the auxiliary police.

The deployment would have been in effect until December 2, Sangki said.

Sangki said he deployed more than 20 police auxiliary and went to Crossing Saniag where they met with Talumbu Masukat, the Sangguniang Bayan of Mamasapano, and his men.

However, during the cross examination, Ampatuan's lawyer Sigfried Fortun tried to discredit Sangki, saying that he was indicted for cases of murder in the past.

Fortun said Sangki had been indicted in the murders of Hamsa Kamal, Mongkika Ampatuan, Mawani Ampatuan, and Saminda Sangki.

Fortun added that Sangki also has a pending case for murder and arson.

But Chief State Prosecutor Jovencito Zuno said this did not affect the credibility of the witness.

"The defense tried to discredit his credibility by presenting criminal records...but it will not damage his credibility. The direct testimony was good and even in the cross examination," Zuno told reporters.

Jeofrey Freddie Lizada, Smart Telecoms legal assistant, also testified and presented a copy of a billing statement of Mangudadatu?s mobile phone.

?He [Lizada] just testified on the authenticity of the billing statement,? Roland Argabioso, National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) field operations chief, told the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

When asked about the importance of the phone bill, the NBI official said the call records would back the claim of Mangudadatu that he spoke with his wife Bai Genalyn moments before she and 56 others were slaughtered.

Mangudadatu had maintained that his wife was able to tell him over the phone that Ampatuan and a group of about 100 armed men blocked their convoy in a checkpoint in Ampatuan town before the victims were massacred.

Argabioso said Lizada?s testimony only lasted about five minutes.

?The defense lawyers did not make a cross examination of the witness,? said Argabioso, who was inside the makeshift courtroom at the Philippine National Police in Camp Crame.

Lizada later told reporters outside the courtroom that he just presented the copy of a phone billing statement, but refused to elaborate.

The hearing at the Police Non-commissioned Officers? Club
building was a continuation of a petition for bail by Ampatuan Jr., the prime suspect in the deaths of 57 people, including 31 journalists.

Ampatuan arrived in Camp Crame at 6:30 a.m. with several escorts from the NBI and the PNP.

Last week, raw video footage of the massacre site was presented during the hearing. The footage showed bodies being dug from the mass graves using a backhoe.