Playlist: Murder, millions, mansions, and the Ampatuans

The Ampatuans and their associates had 597 bank accounts, 500 hectares of real property assets, 130 motor vehicles, 420 firearms, and a private army many hundreds strong. Their scions now stand accused in the murder of 58 persons, including 32 journalists and media workers, in the Ampatuan Massacre of Nov. 23, 2009.

BY PHILIPPINE CENTER FOR INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISM (PCIJ) AND FREEDOM FOR MEDIA, FREEDOM FOR ALL NETWORK

THE photos and video tell a true story.

They were shamefully rich, immensely powerful, and by many accounts virulent in their ways and mores, during their long rule in Maguindanao province and in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).

By court documents, the lifestyle check conducted by the Office of the Onbudsman, and the testimonies of their own allies and subjects, this much is true: The Ampatuans and their associates had 597 bank accounts, 500 hectares of real property assets, 130 motor vehicles, 420 firearms, and a private army many hundreds strong.

Below is a playlist of PCIJ documentaries on the Ampatuan Massacre of Nov. 23, 2009, as well as on the Ampatuan clan, whose scions now stand accused in the murder of 58 persons, including 32 journalists and media workers.

The videos were produced by the PCIJ team led by Ed Lingao, at the time PCIJ multimedia director.

Research and reporting by Carolyn O. Arguillas, editor of MindaNews, and other journalist-colleagues of PCIJ in Mindanao, assisted in great measure in the making of these video.

Click on the links to watch the video

ANGKAN, Inc, a PCIJ documentary on the clans of Maguiindanao, 2012