THE PHILIPPINE CENTER for Investigative Journalism is proud to publish The Ampatuan Assets: Mansions, Money, and Politics in Maguindanao, a 30-minute English-language documentary that reveals the extent of the fabled Ampatuan wealth and apparent efforts by the clan to dispose of some of these assets before government can seize them.
Senior members of the Ampatuan clan are among the principal accused in the 2009 Maguindanao Massacre, where 58 people, including 32 journalists were murdered in the worst case of election violence and violence against journalists. The incident propelled the Philippines to the top of the list of the world’s most dangerous places for journalists in 2010.
The documentary is the English-language version of the two-part documentary Lipat-Bahay that was aired over GMANewsTV last November 24.
The documentary reveals the extent of the wealth of clan patriarch Andal Ampatuan Sr. and his sons Andal Junior and Zaldy, based on investigation by several government agencies including the Anti Money Laundering Council, the Office of the Ombudsman, and the Commission on Audit.
More importantly, the documentary also reveals how the Ampatuans have succeeded in transferring some of these assets just before the government was able to secure a freeze order as part of its civil forfeiture case against the clan.
The video was produced by the PCIJ as part of its commemoration of the third year anniversary of the Maguindanao Massacre.