Two of the four police officers who were relieved and placed under police custody over the infamous Maguindanao massacre have admitted that they were manning a checkpoint along with at least 15 other cops in Ampatuan town the day the 57 journalists and civilians were killed.

But Senior Superintendent Ericson Velasquez, chief of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Division (CIDD) of the police’s Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG), would not divulge the names of the two police officers, saying they are still in the process of documenting the statements made by the four cops under their custody.

“We are still processing, documenting all their statements. I might give information that could jeopardize the on-going investigation,” said Velaquez.
“All I can confirm is that two of them have already given statements confirming that they were manning the checkpoint. This is very valuable in the investigation that we are conducting,” he said.

The four policemen under CIDG custody are Senior Superintendent Agusana Maguid, officer-in-charge (OIC) of the Maguindanao Provincial Police Office; Chief Inspector Sukarno Dicay, OIC deputy commander of the Maguindanao Provincial Police Office; Senior Inspector Ariel Diongson, OIC, group director of the 1508th Provincial Mobile Group (PMG); and Senior Police Officer 2 Badawi Bakal, OIC of the Datu Ampatuan Police Station.

Maguid had been relieved of his command while the three others were linked to the massacre after they were allegedly spotted in the crime scene in Sitio Masalay, Barangay Salman in Ampatuan town on the day of the massacre.

While two of them admitted manning the checkpoint on that day, Velasquez said the two said that the checkpoint area is far from the where the 21 bodies were initially recovered and the grave site of 36 others.

“It (checkpoint area) is also in Ampatuan pero malayo sa grave site,” said Velasquez.

Velasquez, however, said that they are still double-checking the statements made by the two police officials, particularly on the issue on whether or not their statements are in consonance with the evidence and the testimony of some witnesses.

Among evidence being reviewed by investigators are records of police deployment before and during the day of the massacre, especially the written records as to where checkpoints were set up.

The official said that the statements made by at least seven other witnesses will also be used in corroborating the statements made by the two police officials.

Velasquez, however, would not say if the two police officials will be used as government witnesses against Datu Unsay Mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr. and some militiamen who were accused of perpetrating the gruesome killings.