Datu Unsay Mayor Datu Andal Ampatuan Jr. (2nd from right), accompanied by his wife and brother ARMM Gov. Zaldy Ampatuan (left), is escorted by soldiers after his surrender to authorities in Sharif Aguak, Maguindanao, Thursday. (AFP Photo)

The mayor of Datu Unsay town in Maguindanao, Datu Andal Ampatuan, Jr., turned himself in to the government through Presidential Adviser on Mindanao Affairs Jesus Dureza Thursday, four days after the mass killings of 57 innocent people in the province that has triggered widespread public anger and condemnation from all over the world.

Also known as Datu Unsay, he was immediately whisked to a waiting helicopter in Shariff Aguak, Maguindanao, with a throng of relatives led by his father, Datu Andal Sr., the provincial governor, and Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao Gov. Datu Zaldy Ampatuan, among others.

The military aircraft flew him to General Santos City for the trip to Manila.

Ampatuan, Jr. vehemently denied the accusations linking him to the massacre in Ampatuan town Monday.

"Walang katotohanan (There is no truth to that)," he told GMA7's Jessica Soho upon their arrival in General Santos City just after mid-afternoon.

General Santos City is the hometown of Manila Bulletin reporter Alejandro "Bong" M. Reblando, 53, one of at least 17 journalists slain in the carnage along with civilians and relatives of a political opponent of the Ampatuans.

Ampatuan, Jr.'s surrender came after the much-criticized visit of Dureza to the provincial capitol earlier in what he said was to convince the powerful clan to submit to due process.

Now considered by the Philippine National Police as the main suspect in the massacre, Ampatuan, Jr. was being groomed to run for governor against an emerging rival from another powerful Moro clan, Datu Ismael “Toto” Mangudadatu, vice mayor of Buluan town also in Maguindanao.

Mangudadatu’s wife, Genalyn Tiamzon, two sisters, one of them Vice Mayor Bai Eden of Mangudadatu town, and an aunt, were among those killed.

Genalyn was leading a convoy of cars traveling to Shariff Aguak, the capital, to file his husband's certificate of candidacy when they were waylaid in Ampatuan town, brought to the interior of the town and killed.

Both the Ampatuans and Mangudadatus are staunch allies of President Arroyo.

In an earlier interview Thursday over radio dzMM by anchor Ted Failon, Energy Undersecretary Datu Zamzamin L. Ampatuan said the family had been convincing Ampatuan Jr. to submit himself to due process to clear his name.

The DOE official, a cousin of the Datu Unsay mayor, said his kin denied any participation in the carnage.

“Buong pamilya kinausap siya ng masinsinan,” he said.

The DOE official said relatives including Ampatuan Jr.’s elder brother, Datu Zaldy, gave the somber family talk shortly after Dureza met with the town mayor and Governor Andal Ampatuan Sr. last Tuesday.

“We need to talk to him. Let him understand that this is a process that he needs to undergo,” the DoE official quoted Zaldy, referring to the Malacañang-ordered investigation of the grisly murders.

Ultimately, Ampatuan Jr. expressed that he wouldn’t mind being put under custody by the authorities.

Government prosecutors also Thursday filed multiple murder charges against Ampatuan Jr., before a General Santos City court for his alleged involvement in the carnage.

Sources at the Department of Justice said Ampatuan Jr. waived his right to avail of the usual preliminary investigation, a legal procedure where prosecutors determine whether there is sufficient evidence to charge a person.

The team of government prosecutors from the DoJ main office that handled the inquest in General Santos City was led by Senior State Prosecutor Leo Dacera.

Justice Secretary Agnes VST Devanadera on Wednesday issued a department order designating two groups of prosecutors to handle the inquest proceeding and the prosecution of those involved in the massacre.

Meanwhile, the military early Thursday morning took control of the provincial capitol of Maguindanao and two municipal halls in the province, which was placed under an emergency status by President Arroyo.

Armed Forces of the Philippines spokesman Lt. Col. Romeo Brawner, Jr. however emphasized the move does not mean that military rule will be imposed on the province.

“The civil government will still function; we will just help the police enforce the law. The civil government will still run the municipal hall, but there will be a strong military presence because of the state of emergency. Yun ang basis namin,” Brawner explained.

A total gun ban is also to be imposed in the area.

Army troopers started positioning themselves last Wednesday night and by 4:30 a.m. Thursday, took control of the provincial capitol and the municipal halls of Ampatuan and Shariff Aguak towns.

Beforeto taking control of the province, AFP Acting Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Rodrigo Maclang ordered the deactivation of two Special CAFGU Active Auxiliary (SCAA) companies, with about 200 members, in Maguindanao.

Alongside the deactivation of the SCAA companies, the AFP also ordered all firearms, ammunition, equipment, and uniforms issued to its members turned over to the Army’s 6th Infantry Division. All mission orders issued by the AFP in Maguindanao, as well as in Sultan Kudarat and Cotabato City – which are also under the state of emergency, were likewise revoked.

Brawner said the AFP is also conducting an investigation into the alleged involvement of some SCAA members in the gruesome killings.

Col. Jonathan Ponce, 6th ID spokesman, said the military has already recovered or recalled at least 198 high-powered firearms from civilian volunteers. The firearms will be subjected to ballistics tests to determine if any of these may have been used in last Monday’s killings.

Army troopers, as well as Armored Personnel Carriers (APCs) are now deployed at the provincial capitol compound, at the two municipal halls, and along roads, especially the highway connecting Cotabato City and Takurong City.

Senator Panfilo Lacson, for his part, said the only way the Arroyo administration can redeem itself from the numerous atrocities being hurled its way is to jail all the perpetrators involved in the gruesome massacre.

Lacson said now that the whole world knows of the political weakness of the Arroyo government, it should show signs it is serious in bringing about justice on the victims.

“Now that the European Union, United Nations and other leading countries have condemned the massacre, and rightly so, as it is unprecedented in any election-related violence anywhere in the world, the only redeeming value left for our country is to account for all the perpetrators of the crime and lock them all up in jail forever,” Lacson said.

“Get all the perpetrators including the masterminds. Lock them up and throw away the key,” Lacson further said.

And, to further increase pressure on the government to immediately resolve the massacre, Senator Loren Legarda appealed to the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to send its own investigative team in the Philippines to help in the impartial probe of the carnage.

“I have written Honorable Nayanethem Pillay, UNCHR head based in Geneva, Switzerland requesting the international body to send an investigative team to conduct an impartial and thorough probe of the massacre,” Legarda said in a statement.

At the same time Legarda urged foreign media as well as international press watchdogs to cover the government’s handling of this case and see for themselves why the country is now called the most dangerous place for journalists. (With reports from Ellson Quismorio, Elena Aben, Hannah Torregoza and Rolly Carandang)