Witness to Philippines massacre shot dead

A witness to the massacre of 57 people in the southern Philippines last year has been shot dead, raising concerns about whether others will be prepared to testify against members of a powerful clan charged with the murders.

Suwaib Upham was killed in Parang town on 14 June, but details were only released this week. He was a member of a civilian militia implicated in the 23 November massacre, the country's worst incident of election-related violence.

Upham had agreed to testify against members of the Ampatuan clan, who are among the nearly 200 people who have been charged with the murders on the southern island of Mindanao. New York-based Human Rights Watch called on the government to act swiftly to protect witnesses and their families.

"Massacre witnesses are dying while the government sits on its hands," Elaine Pearson, acting Asia director at HRW, said in a statement today. "This sends the worst possible message to other witnesses thinking of coming forward."

Andal Ampatuan Sr, the clan's patriarch, his four sons and a brother are awaiting trial in Manilla.

There have been concerns about the government's commitment to solving the case, as the Ampatuans, who had ruled the province for a decade, were strong supporters of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, whose term ends on 30 June

"We have directed our security forces to take all necessary measures to apprehend the perpetrators, utilising all the special powers available under the state of emergency that the president declared and continue to maintain in the province," a presidential spokesman, Gary Olivar, said.

Fifty-seven people, including at least 30 journalists, were killed when about 100 armed gunmen attacked their convoy on the way to witness the filing of nomination papers for a member of the Mangudadatu clan, rivals to the Ampatuans, to stand in last month's local elections.

The candidate, Esmael "Toto" Mangudadatu, lost his wife, two sisters and four other relatives in the massacre. He was elected as governor of the troubled Maguindanao province in the 10 May elections.