AMPATUAN, Philippines (AP) — A politician whose wife and relatives were among 57 people massacred in the southern Philippines this week in an apparent bid to stop him from running for governor has filed his candidacy for the election.
Ismael Mangudadatu says "only death can stop me from running."
Mangudadatu was escorted by soldiers, a police commander and a senior army general. His caravan of more than 50 vehicles took the same road where his wife, two sisters, supporters and journalists were stopped and killed Monday and their bodies dumped in mass graves.
Suspect Andal Ampatuan Jr., a scion of a rival clan that has ruled Maguindanao province unopposed for years, has turned himself in and is expected to be charged in the slayings Friday. He says he's innocent.
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