The Philippine Online Chronicles

In an exclusive interview with ABS-CBN News, a man currently being held in a Manila prison for murder came forward to tell the story of how he had been working as an assassin for the Ampatuan clan since he was twelve years old. Alias ‘Abdul’ claims to have killed hundreds for the Ampatuans, performing assassinations and taking part in raids of entire villages.

"I never asked questions because we knew up front. They would face us all and talk to us. Anyone who would question would be killed," he said in Filipino.

Abdul mentioned that the Ampatuans paid for his education from grade four to third year high school. At the same time, he and 30 other young boys were being trained as soldiers in the mountains of South Upi, Maguindanao. Palestinians and Indonesians supposedly taught them how to fight and kill.

“We were trained like soldiers. Everything was there, like how to hold a gun, how to aim a gun and how to shoot a person,” he said.

Abdul claimed that his orders came from Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) Governor Zaldy Ampatuan, although instructions often came from an aide. He added that Zaldy was sometimes present at the time of the murders.

Armed Forces of the Philippines spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Romeo Brawner Jr. said that no training ground had been found in South Upi, although it was possible that “they [had] gone to the area to train, then just left.”

On the other hand, Commission on Human Rights Chair Leila de Lima has called for a more thorough investigation of children being used as assassins.

"If this is true, if it is a reality in that part of the country, then this surely warrants further investigation," she said. "This is shocking. This is really unbelivable. I mean, the Ampatuan town massacre is already unbelievable. What [Abdul] is revealing is like a movie.”