MANILA, Philippines??They begged for their lives ? [but] they made sure no one would survive.?

Using high-powered guns, Datu Unsay Mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr. and his uncle shot dead Genalin Mangudadatu and two companions, summoned other members of the convoy and again fired on the three corpses in their presence.

This was part of the account of Ampatuan Vice Mayor Rasul Sangki, who testified on Wednesday that before they were killed, the wife of Buluan Vice Mayor Esmael ?Toto? Mangudadatu and her sister-in-law Bai Eden begged for their lives, and journalist Jimmy Pal?ak?who hosted a number of shows during town celebrations?repeatedly reminded Ampatuan Jr. that they knew each other.

In his testimony delivered in Filipino before Quezon City Judge Jocelyn Solis-Reyes, Sangki said Ampatuan and his men eventually ?finished off? the rest of the Mangudadatu convoy.

?They aimed at the heads. They made sure no one would survive,? he said.

Andal Ampatuan Jr. is the primary suspect in the Nov. 23 massacre of 57 people, including at least 30 journalists, in Maguindanao. He is facing 41 counts of murder so far.

Sangki was the first witness to testify at Wednesday?s hearing held in a converted courtroom at the Noncommissioned Officers Club of the Philippine National Police in Camp Crame. He was the second witness presented by the prosecution at the hearing on Ampatuan?s bail petition.

Ambush

The burly Sangki arrived at the courtroom looking pale and anxious and escorted by plainclothesmen from the Witness Protection Program.

He said he knew of the plan to ambush members of the Mangudadatu convoy three days before it happened because Ampatuan himself told him about it by phone.

?A-ambushin natin? was how Ampatuan described it, Sangki said during questioning by State Prosecutor Leo Dacera.

Sangki said that on Nov. 19, he was in Manila when he first received a call from the mayor seeking clearance to deploy some of his men in Ampatuan town.

He said Ampatuan merely said Mangudadatu family members would pass the area.

Sangki said that on Nov. 20, he returned to Maguindanao and was summoned by the mayor.

Prosecutor Dacera asked him why he went despite being tired from his return trip.

Sangki paused at length before replying that in their province of Maguindanao, Ampatuan was known to get upset when he did not have his way.

?If I do not oblige, I fear that something might happen to me or my family,? Sangki said.

?Sangoku?

This was how Sangki recounted the turn of events:

On Nov. 23, Sangki was at the Ampatuan municipal hall early to meet with members of the Sangguniang Bayan. He got another call from Ampatuan, who ordered him to proceed to Crossing Saniag.

Sangki complied, and saw Ampatuan and his men armed with M-60s, M-16s, M-14s, AK-47s, M-203s and a bazooka.

He also saw many vehicles, including a ?sangoku,? a custom-made camouflage-painted truck that carried ?two .50 cal and two .30 cal [firearms].?

At this point, an argument erupted between Dacera and defense lawyer Sigfrid Fortun, who objected when the prosecutor flashed a photo of what appeared to be a sangoku on a projector screen.

?We cannot say this is exactly the same as the one seen in Crossing Saniag. A sangoku contains firearms. For the record, I don?t see any firearm. I don?t see even the barrel of a firearm, just a square hole,? Fortun complained, eliciting laughter from the courtroom audience.

Sangki said Ampatuan carried an Icom radio unit through which he appeared to be monitoring the movements of the Mangudadatu convoy.

He said the man on the radio giving updates to Ampatuan was Chief Insp. Sukarno Dicay.

?I got scared?

This was how Sangki continued his testimony:

Sangki said he heard Dicay report that the convoy had passed the Tacurong rotunda.

When Dicay told Ampatuan that the convoy had made it past the Isulan rotunda, the latter told his men: ?Alert kayo!?

Ampatuan ordered that the convoy be allowed to get near enough to be blocked by the sangoku.

?I got scared. If the Mangudadatus were armed, there might be a firefight,? Sangki told the court.

Sangki then overheard Dicay tell Ampatuan that the convoy was being led by a Pajero-type vehicle and that a media vehicle with the marking UNTV was bringing up the rear.

He was about two to three arms? length away from Ampatuan when Dicay reported on the radio that the convoy had reached Crossing Saniag and had been blocked.

Ampatuan then ordered his men in the area to look for the certificate of candidacy of Toto Mangudadatu, who planned to run for governor of Maguindanao.

Police cars

Sangki said he rode one of two Toyota Hilux police cars that were among the vehicles used by Ampatuan?s men to get to Sitio Malating, where the Mangudadatu convoy was held.

In Malating, Sangki said he saw Dicay aiming his firearm at Mangudadatu family members and other people lying on the ground.

This was how he narrated the succeeding events:

Ampatuan, followed by his men, alighted from his vehicle and started pulling at the hair of those on the ground, apparently looking for someone.

?They started hitting the people. [Ampatuan] gave the order to seize all cell phones, radio equipment and cameras,? Sangki said.

At this point, Sangki noticed journalist Pal?ak among those on the ground. Ampatuan?s men were hitting him in the back with rifle butts.

Two women were singled out from the rest and taken to a Toyota Revo that prosecutors said was owned by Ampatuan?s uncle, Datu Kanor.

Sangki heard two gunshots and saw people being hit, pushed or dragged.

(Previous news reports identified Datu Kanor as the vice mayor of Salibo town who now faces multiple murder charges. Sangki said Datu Kanor was also one of the most trusted men of the clan patriarch Andal Ampatuan Sr.)

?They?re here?

At one point, Ampatuan radioed someone saying in Filipino: ?Father, they?re here.?

The man that answered, who Sangki identified as Ampatuan Sr., said: ?You know what to do.?

The response prompted Sangki to tell Ampatuan that they could perhaps still resolve the matter.

To which Ampatuan replied: ?Huwag kang magsalita d?yan, pagod ako! (Shut up! I?m tired!)?

The entire group then proceeded to Sitio Masalay where Sangki and Ampatuan got off.

?I went behind the Hilux and saw two women being pulled out of the Revo and ordered to join the others,? Sangki said.

He said he heard Pal?ak tell Ampatuan: ?Datu, I?m Jimmy!?

But Ampatuan?s men continued to hit Pal?ak, he said.

Pal?ak and the two women were then made to stand together and shot, Sangki said adding that Ampatuan and Datu Kanor ?were the ones who fired.?

Others at the scene

Ampatuan then ordered the other passengers of the L-300 be brought to him. He again fired at the dead as if to emphasize what had just occurred, Sangki said.

He said the other men he recognized at the scene were Datu Badal Oca, the vice mayor of Sultan Sa Barongis; Datu Mama Ampatuan, who carried an AK-47; one Datu Piro, who was with an M-16; and one Datu Fahd, who had an M-203.

He said the fifth datu that he saw was Datu Bahnarin Ampatuan, who is married to his sister.

Sangki said Ampatuan?s men then shot all the victims in the head.

Later, he said, Ampatuan ordered him to go back to Sitio Malating ?and tell everyone that they saw nothing.?

Credibility

The defense panel attacked Sangki?s credibility during the hour-long cross-examination.

At the start, Fortun established Sangki?s family ties to the Mangudadatus and the Ampatuans.

He then questioned Sangki?s failure to inform the Mangudadatus of Ampatuan?s purported ambush plan.

?You did not tell the Mangudadatus of the accused?s plan despite your being their relative?? Fortun said.

?I did not,? Sangki said.

Fortun also asked Sangki why he did not report the purported plot to the authorities when he had just attended the convention of the ruling Lakas-Kampi-CMD.

?Being the second father of the town, you did nothing to stop the crime. Why did you not inform the authorities or even officials of your party?? Fortun said.

Sangki replied in Filipino: ?I don?t know who to trust.?

Fear for family

During redirect, Sangki said he was afraid of angering Ampatuan if he tried to reveal what he knew.

?I don?t trust the law ? because the police and the military [in Maguindanao] are under the control of the Ampatuans. They make the decision for the police and the military,? he said, adding:

?I was also afraid that the Ampatuans might get angry with my family.?

Sangki said he actually told one Kagi Faisal, a party official in Maguindanao, of Ampatuan?s plan but that the official ignored him.

When the prosecution panel tried to ask what Ampatuan ?is capable of doing when he?s angry,? Fortun blocked the question, saying the answer would just be an opinion of the witness.

Fortun also pointed out alleged inconsistencies in Sangki?s affidavit, including the latter?s claim that he met Dicay only on the day of the massacre.

The defense lawyer likewise tried to ask Sangki if he was using banned drugs, but Judge Reyes upheld the prosecutors? opposition.