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The prosecution presented eight key witnesses, including a former vice mayor and a former trusted man of the Ampatuans. Separately, they testified on how they saw the planning and execution of the ambush against the Mangudadatu party that led to the killing of 58 persons on Nov. 23, 2009.

A week after the Ampatuan Massacre of Nov. 23, 2009, the Ampatuans tried to secure amnesty for dozens of their high-powered, high-end firearms. After the massacre, the AFP unearthed or seized 1,200 illegal firearms in Maguindanao, including at least 300 reportedly linked to the incident.

Three years after the Ampatuan Massacre trial began, the high court in December 2013 assigned an "assisting judge" to speed up the process.

Numerous motions filed by lawyers of the accused Ampatuans had stretched the pace of the trial interminably. By 2013, they had filed nine motions for the judge to recuse herself. Bail hearings for 70 detained suspects and lead accused, Datu Unsay Ampatuan, ended only in 2017.