In The Know: Esmael Amil Enog

Esmael Amil Enog, a state witness in the Maguindanao massacre case, went missing in March before police recently confirmed his murder, private prosecutor Nena Santos said last month.

Enog, a former militiaman, was reportedly killed in Mamaspano town in Maguindanao, his body cut into pieces.

In July last year, he told the court that on the orders of his superior, Alijol Ampatuan, he drove 36 armed men in two batches to Malating, Ampatuan town, the site of the massacre, on the morning of Nov. 23, 2009, the day of the killings.

Enog was not included in the government witness protection program, because he did not want to be confined to a government safe house, Santos said.

Santos said that Alijol, another possible witness, was also feared to have been killed. Alijol is a distant relative of the Ampatuans, the main suspects in the massacre.

In June 2010, Suwaib Upham, a member of the clan’s militia force who claimed to have taken part in the actual shooting was gunned down in Parang, Maguindanao, before he qualified for state witness protection. Upham adopted the alias “Jesse” and gave select reporters an interview months before his killing. Sources: Inquirer Archives