The lawyer of the Ampatuan clan has called for the filing of rebellion charges against former defense secretary and now presidential aspirant Gilbert Teodoro, Jr. for allowing the arming of the political family, which is now being accused of rebellion by the national government.

Philip Pantojan, one of the lawyers of the Ampatuans, who have been slapped with rebellion charges aside from being tagged in the November 23 Maguindanao massacre, said the national government supplied firearms to the members of the civilian volunteer organizations (CVO) that allegedly comprised the Ampatuans’ private army in Maguindanao during the watch of Teodoro at the Department of National Defense.

“Why is he not being charged? Is he a holy cow? Is he being protected? Why is he not being asked to explain the presence of firearms in Maguindanao because it is the government that supplied these firearms,” Pantojan said.

When the government placed Maguindanao under the state of emergency and Martial Law, the military was able to dig more than a thousand firearms, including those that were buried just a few meters from the palatial residence of Maguindanao Governor Andal Ampatuan Sr.

The firearms and ammunitions found could have been enough to supply a brigade-size troop, the military said. Prior to the declaration of a state of emergency and martial Law, the military said armed sympathizers of the Ampatuans were gearing for an uprising. The same CVOs, allegedly led by Datu Unsay mayor Andal Jr., were believed to have participated in the massacre of 57 people, mostly journalists, on November 23.

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