A RESEARCH

PRESENTED TO

DEPARTMENT OF SOCIOLOGY

COLLEGE OF ARTS

POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILLIPINES

Mabini campus, Sta. Mesa, Manila

THE AMPATUAN, MAGUINDANAO MASSACRE

A PSYCHOANALYTIC-SOCIOLOGICAL STUDY OF WHY PEOPLE DO HEINOUS

CRIME.

SUBMITTED BY:

EMMANUEL S. CALIWAN

BS SOCIOLOGY

2009

RESEARCH ABSTRACT

Understanding why people do things a normal person would oath not to do is very difficult

task indeed but sociology as a behavioral science need to understand things like this so that

it could dispel myths surrounding such phenomenon. Contrary to popular belief that such acts

like people who are possessed by the devil or the likes of it do heinous crimes. Sociology

believes the contrary is true that human beings put in a right situation and circumstances, and

social forces at work are capable of such evil. As S.S.A Jason Gideon puts it “Evil is not a

cultural thing it is rooted in our human nature.”(Criminal minds EP.19 season 1). This paper

explores a very recent unfathomable and inhumane like social phenomenon that happened in

the Philippines particularly that of the Maguindanao province. The researcher for the sake of

accuracy calls this as THE AMPATUAN, MAGUINDANAO MASSACRE a crime that even in

our wildest dreams we don’t situate in the Philippine setting. Further more the researcher

departs from a pure psychological explanations and focus instead on a psychoanalytic-

sociology of men who are not in a war yet always at “war” and thus create evil1.

This paper is an initial step towards a convergence of psychoanalytical theory and

sociological theory on its quest to give real and critical explanation on the mystery that is

human behavior. Premises of nature-nurture integration, subjective-objective integration, and

neo Freudian psychoanalysis (particularly that Erich Fromm) and sociological social

psychology will be seen to play very important factors in unfolding to answer to our question

that we situates under the behavioral studies2 division. This paper aims at bringing sociology

closer to what it is all about a scientific and critical study of human behavior in the context of

societal forces. It is also my aim in this paper to bring Erich Fromm back in the periphery of

sociological thought. And the only way to bring him back is to use his theories which are all of

great relevance on the understanding of social phenomenon.

1 For the readers this paper aims not to give an apology of what the Ampatuans have done. I didn’t write this paper in light of“ sociology in bad faith” to use Peter Berger’s term but my aim is to give real and critical answers to a long standing question of : How have they’ve done such act ? (Papaano magagawa ng isang tao ang isang bagay na karimarimarim tulad nito?) 2 The American school of sociology which holds a great deal of impact to the Philippine sociology would categorically call this as behavioral science but to logically argue human behavior can never be put in such rigid parameters, so the researcher believes that behavioral study is a much correct term to use borrowing from the European school of sociology.

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THE AMPATUAN MAGUINDANAO MASSACRE: A PSYCHOANALYTIC-SOCIOLOGICAL STUDY OF WHY PEOPLE DO HEINOUS CRIME.

EMMANUEL S. CALIWANPOLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES

November 23, 20093 a common day for people residing in Metro Manila area, but not for

the people of Ampatuan, Maguindanao for in this day a great crime of inhumanity that is not seen

in the Philippines will transpire. But before venturing on what happened on that day lets first look

at prior events that would help us situate the event on the 23rd of November. 1988, Surab Abutasil

is gunned down inside a restaurant in Shariff Aguak shortly before the elections. Abutasil is

running against Ampatuan Sr. for Mayor of Magonoy and also a relative of Ampatuan Sr.’s first

wife. Although Ampatuan Sr. is the primary suspect, charges filed against him did not prosper.

2003, Ampatuan Sr. is accused by the Candaos, a rival family of the Ampatuans, of murdering

Abdul Candao, elder brother of former Maguindanao governor Zacaria Candao. Ampatuan

defeated Zacaria in the 2001 gubernatorial race for the province.2008, After winning his third and

last term as governor in 2007, Ampatuan Sr. is no longer allowed to run in the 2010 elections—

this opens the door for possible contenders. The Mangudadatus travel to the Shariff Aguak

municipality, along with 200 fully armed men. This is to inform Ampatuan Sr. that a member of

their clan will vie for the gubernatorial post in the upcoming elections, according to an abs-

cbnNEWS.com/Newsbreak military source that is familiar with politics in the area. Buluan Vice

Mayor Ismael “Toto” Mangudadatu will rival the Ampatuans in the next gubernatorial race. This

displeased Ampatuan Sr., according to the source. The source adds that Ampatuan Sr. reportedly

wants one of his sons to succeed him as provincial governor. This is the start of the clash

between the two clans. They were once close allies. Former Buluan mayor Pua Mangudadatu,

father of Vice Mayor Mangudadatu, was one of the 4 key allies of the Ampatuan clan patriarch

when he was still starting out in politics.

23rd of November – The day of the massacre, due to the fact that Vice Mayor Toto

Mangundadatu are receiving death treats due to the fact that he is aiming for the Gubernatorial

position sent his wife and other of her women relatives to file his certificate of candidacy on his

behalf in the Commission on Elections office in Maguindanao. Lawyers, supporters and media

men who would cover the event are with them. At around 9:00 am PSSUPT. Abusama Maguid,

Officer-in-charge of Maguindanao police provincial office, receives information that there is a

3 In reconstructing the events that transpired in Ampatuan, Maguindanao I relied heavily with the ABS-CBN news archive. Retrieved from www.abs-cbn NEWS .com and www.newsbreak.com.ph

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bomb threat along the National Highway, particularly at Sitio Malating, Brgy. Salman in

Ampatuan, Maguindanao. Between 9:00-10:00 am According to a police report, the 8-vehicle

convoy of Mangudadatu’s party reaches Barangay Salman portion of the highway leading to

Shariff Aguak. They are flagged down at a check point conducted by members of the

Maguindanao police and Civilian Volunteer Organizations (CVO) along the highway. Thereafter,

the abduction occurs. From the checkpoint led by Police Inspector Saudi Mukamad of the 1507th

RMG, the convoy is brought to a hilly portion about 2.5 kilometers away from the national

highway. Toto Mangudadatu receives a phone from his wife saying an armed group, supposedly

of the Ampatuan clan, flagged down their convoy on their way to Shariff Aguak town. Her parting

words over the phone are about the armed men slapping them around and commanding them to

swallow the certificate of candidacy forms they brought. 10:15 am According to a statement,

PSSUPT Maguid receives another report from Police Chief Inspector Sukarno Dicay that there is

a bomb threat along the national highway. Around 11:00 am The 64th Infantry Battalion (IB) of the

Philippine Army receives information that a convoy of civilian is abducted by fully armed men in

the national highway. The battalion immediately launches a rescue operation.11:30 am PSSUPT

Maguid inspects the Sitio Malating portion of the national highway. 1:00 pm The troops reach

Barangay Salman to meet with Chief Inspector Dicay, who heads the troops conducting

checkpoints in the area, says he has no knowledge of the reported abduction conveyed to him by

the troops. 1:30 pm The 64th IB troops advance eastward where the abducted civilians were

reportedly brought. Troops conducting the search on foot meet 2 armed men with an M-16 rifle

and a 12-gauge shotgun. They claim to be members of the Ampatuan, Maguindanao CVO. They

are subsequently accosted for questioning at Batallion Tactical Command Post of the 64th IB.

The men are identified as Esmail Canapia and Takpan Dilon. Because of inconsistencies in their

reports, four police officers Maguid, Dikay and Bakal, and Senior Inspector Rex Diongon are

ordered restricted at the ARMM police headquarters while undergoing investigation. 2:00 pm

Troops conducting the on-foot search found the crime scene or the surface scene. 3:00 pm

Buluan Mayor Jong Mangudadatu, on board a private chopper, is looking for his family. He spots

a number of vehicles so he lands near the site. The 64th IB troops initially finds 21 cadavers: 15

female and 6 male. The cadavers have multiple gunshot wounds in different parts of their body.

Later this afternoon, another cadaver is found in a nearby bridge.Five vehicles (4 Toyota vans

and a sport utility vehicle) are found by the investigation team in the surface crime scene. Other

items found are:

1. personal belongings

2. assorted empty shells of firearms

3. other documents

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According to Police Director Caro, the area is immediately secured to preserve the crime scene.

This is done in preparation for the arrival of the Philippine National Police Scene of the Crime

Operatives (PNP-SOCO) team for proper investigation.

8:00 pm SOCO teams from PRO-12 arrive at the crime scene and started processing the 22

cadavers found. President Arroyo orders the military and the police to immediately pursue the

perpetrators of the gruesome massacre. In a statement, Arroyo directs the Armed Forces of the

Philippines (AFP) through acting Defense Secretary Norberto Gonzales and the police through

Interior and Local Government Secretary Ronaldo Puno to order their units to “conduct immediate

and relentless pursuit of the perpetrators, to secure the affected areas.”Description: Watch the

presentation prepared by the Philippine National Police on the initial findings and significant

developments last November 23, 2009.November 24, 2009 President Arroyo places provinces of

Maguindanao and Sultan Kudarat and city of Cotabato under emergency rule (Presidential

Proclamation 1946).  The SOCO continues search and investigation and processing of the crime

scene. Troops, investigators, SOCO and forensic specialists augment to the SOCO team from

PRO-12. According to Police Director Caro, the PNP relieves key police officers in the ARMM, the

provincial director of Maguindanao, the deputy provincial director (Chief Inspector Dicay) and the

directors of the police maneuver groups in Maguindanao. Additional PNP and AFP forces replace

the ousted officers in the province. Implicated security forces are immediately taken into custody

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for investigation, says Caro.The SOCO team finds 3 more grave sites in Sitio Malating aside from

the surface crime scene found on the first day of investigation. The team is able to exhume 24

cadavers in the first grave site. The team will exhume grave sites 2 and 3 on the next day.

November 25, 2009 Grave site number 2 is exhumed by the investigation team. They recover 3

vehicles in the are: 1) Toyota Vios, 2) White L300 van with markings of the UNTV television

network and 3) blue-gray Tamarraw FX. They also recover 6 cadavers. After a while, grave site 3

is exhumed and 5 cadavers are found. The investigation team recovers a total of 57 cadavers

from the crime scene. November 26, 2009 Ampatuan Jr., who is implicated in the massacre, turns

himself in to Presidential Adviser for Mindanao Affairs Jesus Dureza. He is flown to General

Santos City where he is questioned. He is received by Justice Secretary Agnes Devadera.

Prosecutors, led by by Chief State Prosecutor Jovencito Zuño, conducts inquest proceedings.

At night time, Ampatuan Jr. arrives in Manila and is detained at the National Bureau of

Investigation (NBI). He is charged with 7 counts of multiple murder charges. DILG Secretary

Puno reveals that the entire Ampatuan clan will undergo investigation for their alleged role in the

massacre. In a press conference, Puno says that aside from Ampatuan Jr., the Department of

Justice listed 4 other people are suspects in the crime: Maguindanao police director PSSUPT

Maguid, Shariff Aguak police chief inspector Sukarno Dicay, a certain SPO2 Badawi Bakal and

Inspector Diongon. The 4 are implicated based on statements of alleged survivors of the

massacre. 

(Reports of armed movements and closing of local offices are narrated by DILG Secretary Puno

and PNP PRO-12 director Caro. Both said that events—after Ampatuan Jr. was arrested and

before December 4—are the basis for the declaration of Martial law. The following are considered

overt acts of rebellion, according to Puno.)

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THE MYTH OF “EVIL’ IN RELATION TO HEINOUS CRIME

Many do believe that such acts of inhumanity as mass murder/ sanctioned massacre or

in general heinous crime can be only done by people who are possessed by the devil. Especially

in our country that cultural belief in the unknown and the mystical are rampant. From here enters

the dispelling/disenchanting works of behavioral scientist (psychologist, sociologist and

anthropologist to name a few). Giving critical analysis (psychoanalyzing) by studying the behavior

of the “unsub” we can prove that such phenomenon are done by “normal” people not by any dark

entity. As Hannah Arendt thesis on the banality of evil points out that the great evils in history

generally, and the Holocaust in particular, were not executed by fanatics or sociopaths but rather

by ordinary people who accepted the premises of their state and therefore participated with the

view that their actions were normal.

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Fig.2 Hand of one of the dead.

Any body who are interested in understanding the intricate mind of the criminal offender

especially those who are committing heinous crime would be hook in watching the TV series

entitled Criminal minds. I am one of those who are very hooked with this said TV programme. I

want forget a certain episode in season one wherein the BAU (behavioral analysis unit) of the FBI

are invited to solve a criminal case in Mexico where a different kind of culture exist done its

American counter part, in the unfolding of the events we could see that crime done in the USA

are almost the same with the Mexican experience and in the conclusion when the Unsub is

captured SSA Jason Gideon4 said “Evil is not a cultural thing it is rooted in our human nature5.”

But one of the most powerful argument concerning evil as a product of man as a member

of a society is the one presented by Erich Fromm a well known psychoanalyst which have

sociology in his theorizing. In his seminal book entitled Escape from Freedom. He underlined the

thesis that man with his freedom/ individuality came isolation, alienation, and bewilderment.

Freedom is a difficult thing to have, and when we can we tend to flee from it.

4Season 1, Episode 19: MachismoThe BAU is requested to assist on a case in Mexico to determine if there is a serial killer in the town of a police captain who attended one of Gideon's seminars. 5 What Jason Gideon is saying is evil are in all of us if put in the right setting and through the push of social forces evil can grow and pervade us.

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He underlined three ways on escaping freedom: authoritarianism, destructiveness and automaton

conformity. To understand the behavior of our unsub ( the Ampatuans and their CVOs) we can

used as our lenses two of these ways particularly that of destructiveness and authoritarianism.

The Ampatuans in general reading6 tends to used destructiveness. This refers to an attempt to

destroy those we perceive as having (and are aiming) for power.  Because of our desire for

power, we may feel that this finite resource must be taken from those who possess it.  There are

many ways to attempt this destruction, including the alignment with hate groups, religious

extremism, or even patriotism or in the case of the Ampatuan by doing sanctioned massacre. 

While our actions are often antisocial, cruel, and misguided, we rationalize them by claiming a

sense of duty. It is worth noting that being a Muslim warlord in Maguindanao such acts are

normalize due to the status symbol you inherit when you are born in a warlord main clan. As the

summary of events presented in the early part of the paper we could read that the clan’s patriarch

has a long list of crime associated with murdering those who are aiming to get hold of the political

power in the province. As Fromm develop his theorize in his second book entitled Man for Himself

he defined and coined a term social unconscious an act which we do which we believe are done

in our own accord but such acts done by following orders we are used to we no longer notice

them. As Fromm emphasizes that we soak up our society with our mother’s milk. Further more

Fromm believes that our social unconscious can be best understood by examining our economic

systems. In fact he defines and even names five personality types which he calls orientation in

economic terms. The Ampatuans fall under the HOARDING ORIENTATION7, hoarding people

expect to keep. They see the world as possessions and potential possessions. Fromm, drawing

on Marx, relates this type to the bourgeoisie. Hoarding is associated with the cold form of

withdrawing family and with destructiveness. And as the news portray Maguindanao is one of the

poorest province in the Philippines yet the Ampatuans own large estates and many mansions.

In case of the CVO (civilian volunteer organization) which serves as the Ampatuans private army

we can look in their behavior with the escape called authoritarianism. Following an entity outside

of the self and perceived greater than the self is the main feature of authoritarianism.  As the

individual feels alone and powerless, he gains strength from the belief that there is a greater

power beyond himself.  This entity could be a religious figure, a political leader, or social belief. 

By giving up power to the powerful, we become the powerful and no longer feel alone.  In this

sense authoritarianism is two sided or what Fromm describes as sadism/masochism, where we

submit to our leader (such as Adolph Hitler) and demand power over our perceived enemies

(Jews).

6 Reading connotes a psychoanalytic study of the behavior of the subjects.7 C.George Boeree, Erich Fromm, 1997/2006

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And to clearly support Fromm’s theory we can used the Karen Horney’s view on neurosis8.

Horney’s theory is known as psychosocial theory for she differentiated with Freud’s belief she

believes that the source of neuroses are our social surroundings. Karen Horney’s theory gives us

a good explanation on neurotic behavior that is rooted in our social environment. She argue that

heinous crime ( in her language neurotic) are product of our social surrounding, the environment

on which we are raised. In the case of the Ampatuans, Maguindanao a place of which according

to the world bank report is a highly conflict affected area for here we can read that growing in a

environment like this would produce a distinctive deviant behavior. That is apparent with the

action of the Ampatuan warlord clan.

Fromm and Horney’s theory can mean a lot yet the social application which are a crucial

factor in explaining the behavior at hand are for my analysis, lacking a need arise that we used

social processes theorize to concretize our behavioral explanation here comes Kurt Lewin’s field

theory. For Kurt Lewin behaviour was determined by totality of an individual’s situation. In his field

theory, a ‘field’ is defined as ‘the totality of coexisting facts which are conceived of as mutually

interdependent’ (Lewin 1951: 240). Individuals were seen to behave differently according to the

way in which tensions between perceptions of the self and of the environment were worked

through. The whole psychological field, or ‘lifespace’, within which people acted had to be viewed,

in order to understand behaviour. For it to be sociological I relied heavily with the works of

Herbert Kelman and V. Lee Hamilton on their paper entitled The My Lai Massacre: A Military

Crime of obedience. In this work they identified three distinctive process that can be both applied

with the Ampatuans ad their CVOs private army. They also identified that this kind of act can be

called sanctioned massacre. Thus Kelman et’ al identified these three psychosocial processes

namely: authorization, routinization and dehumanization. Through authorization, the situation

becomes so defined that the individual is absolved of the responsibility to make personal moral

choices. Through routinization, the action becomes so organized that there is no opportunity for

raising moral questions. Through dehumanization, the actors’ attitudes toward the target and

toward themselves become so structured that it neither necessary nor possible for them to view

the relationship in moral terms.

AUTHORIZATION

Sanctioned massacres by definition occur in the context of authority situation, a situation

on which, at least for many of the participants, the moral principles that generally govern human

relationships do not apply. Thus, when acts of violence are explicitly ordered, implicitly

encouraged/ tacitly approved, or at least permitted by legitimate authorities, people readiness to

commit or condone them is enhanced. Behaviorally, authorization obviates the necessity of

8 She defined neurosis as a maladaptive and counterproductive way of dealing with relationships.

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making judgment or choices. An important corollary of the basic structure of the authority

situation is that actors often do not see themselves as personally responsible for the

consequences of their actions. In this situation, behavior that was formerly illegitimate is

legitimized by the authorities’ acquiescence.

This explanation of behavior applies heavily on the behavior of the CVO’s their blind

obedience to those who hold political and economic power, those in vested authority, the

Ampatuans. They characteristically feel obligated to obey orders of these people the

Ampatuans whether or not these correspond with their personal preferences.

ROUTINIZATION

Authorization process creates a situation in which people become involved in an action

without considering its implication and without really making a decision. While on the other hand

routinization fulfills two distinctive functions. First it reduces the necessity of making decisions,

thus minimizing the occasions in which moral questions may arise. Second it makes it easier to

avoid the implication of the action since the actor focuses on the details of the job rather than its

meaning. Routinization operates both at the level of the individual job performance is broken

down into a series of discreet steps, most of them carried out automatic, regularized fashion.

In this process the CVO’s are routinized on killing people who holds different vendetta

rather than their own so such acts – heinous crime are only a part of their job as private

army’s of the powerful Ampatuan clan.

DEHUMANIZATION

Authorization process override standard moral considerations; routinization process

reduce the likehood that such considerations will arise. Still the inhibitions against murdering

one’s fellow human beings are generally so strong that the victims must also be stripped of their

human status if they are to be subject to systematic killing. Insofar as they are dehumanized, the

usual principles of morality no longer apply to them.

In this process a continued effort is done so that sanctioned massacre can be performed

a state of psychopathy is achieved so that a normal person can perform murder. Such

state of psychopathy can be called dehumanization.

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CONCLUSION9

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9 The researcher is withholding this part of the paper until he finish the research concerning the Ampatuans behavior. In addition, when the trial is already finish the researcher hopes to convey his final analysis..

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