SHARIFF AGUAK, MAGUINDANAO?Mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr. led the 100 armed men who flagged down six vehicles carrying 57 people and killed them, according to three men in a car at the rear of the convoy.

The witnesses, who were not part of the victims? group, submitted their statements during inquest proceedings by the Department of Justice (DoJ) in General Santos City on Nov. 27, five days after the massacre.

Copies of their statements were made available to the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

?The convoy was stopped for about five minutes. I and my companions went out of the car to urinate and, at the same time, observe the premises,? one statement said.

?We were threatened to see Datu Unsay approaching the first vehicle of the convoy. Bai Genalin was boarded there.?

They referred to Ampatuan as Datu Unsay, the name given to him by local residents after the Maguindanao town where he is mayor.

?At that time, we heard simultaneous shooting from the armed bodyguards of Datu Unsay. Some armed men went to and ordered the opening of the windows of the Mangudadatu?s vehicle,? one of the witnesses said.

The three said their car was following the convoy led by Genalin (not Genalyn as earlier reported) Mangudadatu, wife of Vice Mayor Esmael Mangudadatu of Buluan town, also in Maguindanao.

Police cars at crime scene

The victims, including at least 30 journalists, were on their way to the capital town of Shariff Aguak to file the certificate of candidacy of the vice mayor, who is running for governor.

In their statements, filed separately but containing almost similar details, the witnesses disclosed that they saw many police cars and armed men in the area where the victims were seized by Ampatuan?s group.

Seized with fear, the group went back to their car and returned to Esperanza, Sultan Kudarat, where they had come from, ?the fastest way we could,? one statement said.

A source in the Ampatuan camp said it was impossible for the three to have seen the mayor because they were at least 30 meters away from the supposed gunmen.

Esmael Mangudadatu and his brother Ibrahim, the mayor of Buluan, executed separate affidavits about the massacre.

In his complaint-affidavit, Esmael claimed he received a call from his wife telling him, ?Hinarang kami ng mga armadong tao dito (Armed men are blocking us here).?

He asked, ?Marami? (Many?)? She answered, ?Mahigit 100 (Over 100).?

Stressed out

Esmael asked again, ?Sino ba yan? (Who is it?)? She replied, ?Malapit na si Unsay ? sinampal ako (Unsay is near ? He slapped me).?

Then, the phone call was cut, the vice mayor said.

At the NBI headquarters in Manila where Ampatuan is detained, the prime suspect in the massacre was reported by a medical officer, Dr. Roberto Rey Santiago, to have had a vomiting fit before dawn Monday.

Santiago examined Ampatuan and attributed the vomiting to stress, said NBI spokesperson Ric Diaz.

?The stress may have been caused by too much thinking on his part. This is according to the doctor,? Diaz said, adding that apart from this, Ampatuan remains healthy and there is no need for his transfer to a medical facility.

Although Ampatuan has a history of asthma, he has not suffered an attack since he is taking maintenance medication, Diaz said.

?He is OK but he is still sleeping near the visitor?s area,? Diaz said, pointing out that Ampatuan remains fearful of ghosts and claimed that it was hot inside the prisoners? cell.

Ampatuan also has become wary of people claiming to be his relatives and dropping off food at the NBI Jail for him.

?He said that he did not touch food brought to him by someone who claimed to be his uncle last Friday,? Diaz told the Inquirer, adding that the mayor had confided that the food provider was a stranger to him.

As precaution, Diaz said Ampatuan?s lawyers have been visiting the mayor in shifts. With a report from Jeannette I. Andrade