MANILA, Philippines ? Suspended Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) Governor Zaldy Uy Ampatuan denied knowing of the plan to ambush the convoy of Buluan Vice Mayor Esmael Mangudadatu that led to the death of 57 people.

?I do hereby swear that I am innocent and have nothing to do with the accusations filed against me. On that day, I took the first flight to Manila from Davao to catch up with a scheduled meeting with the President together with some political allies from Sulu. I only learned of the incident (Maguindanao massacre) vaguely from a phone call after our meeting with the President that day,? Ampatuan said in a statement sent to INQUIRER.net Tuesday.

?I was shocked. The next thing I did was call on and direct Chief Superintendent Umpa of the PNP PRO-ARMM to immediately look into the incident and organize a police probe to investigate so justice can be served,? he added.

Ampatuan?s name was dragged into the massacre trial after witness Mohamad Sangki mentioned during the Jan. 27 hearing that a confidant of former Maguindanao Governor Andal Ampatuan Sr. told him that the ARMM Governor supports the plan to ambush and massacre the Mangudadatus.

Ampatuan said he will leave it up to the judiciary to ferret out the truth.

?I sympathize with the families of the victims and I have condemned, and I continue to condemn the killings as an unthinkable and unfortunate tragedy that I never thought could happen. We will continue to cooperate with the investigation as we appeal to everybody to let the ongoing investigation take its natural course,? he said.

The ARMM chief maintained that he ?vigorously pushed workable peace formulas for every imminent conflict in ARMM.?

?This can be verified and attested to by concerned agencies of the national government as well as their local and international partner organizations that are working for peace in Mindanao?particularly in ARMM areas,? he said.

He added that he went to the extent of lobbying with the ARMM legislative assembly for the creation of towns to prevent clashes between political families.

Ampatuan admitted that he met with the Mangudadatus twice on July 20 and Aug. 11, 2009, not to discourage Mangudadatu from running as governor but to prevent a clash between the two families.

?That I and Deputy Speaker Simeon Datumanong have been at the forefront of efforts in trying to prevent a state of political misunderstanding and feud between my family, as may be dragged into the mess, as indeed it is, and the Mangudadatus,? he said.

The suspended governor is facing a case for rebellion for allegedly ordering government agencies in Maguindanao to close down in protest of the crackdown against his family.