SHARIFF AGUAK, Maguindanao – (UPDATE) Governor Zaldy Uy Ampatuan of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) came to the defense of his brother, Datu Unsay Mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr., who has been charged with masterminding the Nov. 23 killing of at least 67 people – most of them journalists.

"I believe (that he is innocent)," Ampatuan told the Philippine Daily Inquirer and GMA 7 reporters in an interview at his palatial house Sunday afternoon.

"That's why we leave it to due process, to the law to decide," he said of the fate of his brother who was accused of leading some 100 armed men in killing at least 67 persons who joined a convoy of a political rival for the filing of a certificate of candidacy for Maguindanao governor.

Genalyn Mangudadatu, wife of Buluan Vice Mayor Esmael Mangudadatu, had texted her husband before she was killed that Andal Jr. had slapped her.

Genalyn and the other victims were on their way to the Commission on Election’s office here to file her husband’s certificate of candidacy for the Maguindanao gubernatorial race.

Three days after the massacre, Andal Jr. yielded to authorities and is now detained at the lock up cell of the National Bureau of Investigation in Manila.

The Department of Justice, which has been preparing evidence for the seven counts of murder against the suspect, said they got at least 20 witnesses – including two police officers – who could testify that Andal Jr. was behind the shocking murders.

“I am hurt by the allegations that my brother is involved. It’s more painful when I watch him on TV and how the authorities sent my brother to jail. I never expected that,” the ARMM governor said, as about 30 mayors from Maguindanao and Basilan flanked him.

He said that he was in Manila, meeting President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, at the time of the massacre.

“I was with PGMA the whole day to discuss the political scenario in Sulu. I learned of the sad news at 12:30 p.m. I was shocked and appalled,” he said.

He even showed a photocopy of his boarding pass during a morning flight he took from Davao to Manila that day.

Ampatuan urged the public to hear their side.

“I am reminded of the rule of law, which of course, everybody must take. The law presumes everyone as innocent even when charged unless proven guilty beyond reasonable doubt. This is enshrined in the Bill of Rights,” he said.

Ampatuan, who was later joined by his father Andal Sr., said the family would do everything to prove that Andal Jr. had nothing to do with the carnage.

He said they tapped at least 40 lawyers – led by Siegfried Fortun, to help them in the case.

“I want due process and the law to work,” he said.

Appearing teary eyed during the interview, Zaldy Ampatuan said he could not understand why the entire clan was also being dragged into the investigation.

“Why are they dragging our names? I felt that they wanted to show to the public that we are violent. That the entire clan is behind the incident,” he said.

Ampatuan also vowed to oppose the plan of government to suspend him and other officials identified with the Ampatuan clan over the massacre.

“It was easy for them to that without even investigating," he said.

Ampatuan appealed to Interior Secretary Ronaldo Puno and the President for “due process,” adding that a continuing dialogue between the regional government and national officials would be more appropriate than outright preventive suspension.

He described the Ampatuans as peace-loving and said their constituents could attest to that.

Earlier, reading from a prepared statement, Ampatuan said: “Justice on the Maguindanao mayhem must prevail. In this regard, and when the rule of law points to the guilty ones, then let the acts of punishment fall on them. There is no greater condemnation than this to those deserving to be punished for the gruesome acts done.”

Ampatuan said his children and those of other family members were so affected by the massacre that they had stopped going to school.

He said they have also been fearing of retaliation.

The ARMM governor admitted the tragedy had personally affected him.

“....Even if my family is under siege (as a result) of this incident, I continue to uphold the criminal (justice) system. However, what is overbearing is that I belong to the Ampatuan family and I, too, am seeking justice, not because of the accusation but because of my (sworn) duty to uphold the laws and the Constitution to the best of my ability as governor of ARMM,” he said.

Ampatuan also appealed to the media community and the family of the slain journalists “to listen to what we have to say,” and stop the ongoing "trial by publicity."

Ampatuan said their supporters massed around his mansion on Sunday to manifest their continuing trust in the clan and to send a statement they did not believe that the Ampatuans had anything to do with the killings.

Before the interview, some 3,000 men, women and children staged a rally here in support of the family.

Chanting Allahu Akbar, they carried placards that said: “Stop suspecting Ampatuans,” “Ampatuans are not murderers,” and “Itigil na ang paratang (Stop the allegations).”

While the rally was going on, some 300 people also milled inside the compound where Ampatuan’s house stands.

An aide of Tawi-Tawi Governor Sadicul Sahali told the Philippine Daily Inquirer by phone that a convoy of around 60 cars, including the governor’s, was blocked by soldiers and policemen on their way here at about noontime.

He said authorities manning checkpoints told the governor that there was an order from national officials relayed through Presidential Adviser on Mindanao Jesus Dureza not to allow the convoy to proceed here.

As this developed, Human Rights chair Leila de Lima ordered the military to cordon off the site of the massacre in Ampatuan town.

De Lima also said two foreign forensic experts, who were with her during a visit to the site on Sunday, would come back in a few days to start their investigation.