It seems that Mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr. of Datu Unsay, Maguindanao is too hot an inmate to handle, with no agency or facility apparently willing to hold the principal suspect in the infamous Maguindanao massacre for long.

The National Bureau of Investigation, where Ampatuan Jr. is currently detained, suggested his transfer to a better facility, saying the bureau jail is just a lock-up detention and he could not stay there until the trial of the multiple murder case against him is over.

NBI officials suggested the Camp Bagong Diwa detention facility in Bicutan, Taguig City, but Taguig Mayor Sigfrido Tinga said they would oppose such transfer, citing “clear and present danger” to the city’s security.

Lawyer Ricardo Diaz, chief of the NBI Counter Terrorism Division, said the NBI supports the stance of Justice Secretary Agnes Devanadera opposing the transfer of Ampatuan Jr. to the Quezon City Jail for the duration of his trial for security reasons.

Diaz said Ampatuan should be transferred to a better facility.

“The NBI jail is just a lock-up facility and he could not stay here for a long duration. There are other better detention facilities where Ampatuan could be transferred. Ampatuan may not be secured at the Quezon City Jail because he would be prone to riot at the jail,” he said.

The official said the NBI will follow any order from Quezon City Regional Trial Court Judge Jocelyn Solis-Reyes as to where to detain Ampatuan Jr.

“Mayor Ampatuan Jr. has already been arraigned and the QC court acquired the jurisdiction on him. So we will follow the court order,” he said.

“Camp Bagong Diwa has a building that can accommodate Ampatuan and the rest of the accused in the multiple murder case. But the NBI can’t decide on that as the bureau is just a custodian of Ampatuan,” he said.

Diaz stressed the NBI is not avoiding responsibility over Ampatuan, saying the bureau’s main concern is to make sure that the massacre suspect is not harmed or killed.

“First, we have to secure his life so he would not be harmed or killed so he can be presented to the court and face trial. Second, he has still armed men who are on the run that can plan to escape him from NBI custody,” Diaz said.

Interior and Local Government Secretary Ronaldo Puno first proposed the transfer of Ampatuan from the NBI to Camp Bagong Diwa, but Taguig’s Mayor Tinga is opposed to the idea.

“The proposed transfer will not only pose a great danger to our peaceful and thriving city, but may also endanger the life of the accused himself once he is exposed to other prisoners,” the mayor said.

Tinga explained that Camp Bagong Diwa is just 200 meters away from Barangay Maharlika, one of the biggest Muslim communities in the country outside of Mindanao. He said many residents fear the transfer of Ampatuan may jeopardize the safety and security in the said community.

In 2001, Tinga was backed by thousands of residents particularly the Muslim community in strongly opposing the transfer for trial of hundreds of Abu Sayyaf members from Mindanao to Camp Bagong Diwa. Their plea, however, fell on deaf ears.

In March 2005, a foiled jailbreak by Abu Sayyaf members led to a bloody standoff at the camp.

Meanwhile security forces have pinpointed another mass grave of victims who were believed to have also been killed on orders of the Ampatuan family when the powerful clan was still lording over Maguindanao.

Senior Supt. Alex Lineses, acting chief of the Maguindanao police, said they had secured the alleged mass grave site at the town proper of Datu Hoffer.

“We have already secured the area. We are just waiting for the go signal from the Commission on Human Rights for us to start the digging,” said Lineses, adding that the killings and subsequent burials in the area occurred sometime in 2001.

He said civilians tipped them about the mass grave following the downfall of the Ampatuan clan after the November 23 massacre in Ampatuan town where 57 people, most of them journalists, were brutally gunned down. (With a report from Aaron Recuenco)