MANILA // The son of a powerful Philippine war lord who is facing multiple murder charges after Monday's massacre of 57 people, including women and 27 journalists, turned himself in yesterday in the southern province of Maguindanao.
Andal Ampatuan Jr left the walled family compound in a convoy of black SUVs mid-morning for the short drive to the provincial capital, Shariff Aguak, which had been secured earlier by the military, fearing an outbreak of violence from those loyal to the family.
Mr Ampatuan, wearing a black jacket with a black and white kaffiyeh covering his head and face, was met by Jesus Dureza, the president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's adviser on Mindanao affairs. He was embraced by family members before being led to a military helicopter for the short flight to General Santos city. He was not handcuffed.
At General Santos, he was turned over to the secretary of the department of justice, Agnes Devanadera, and was taken to a lounge where the state prosecutor heard evidence against him. He also came face to face with Ismail Mangudadatu, whose wife was one of the victims of the massacre.
After burying his wife yesterday morning, Mr Mangudadatu travelled to General Santos City to file a complaint of multiple murder, robbery, and theft against Mr Ampatuan. Justice department officials were preparing inquest proceedings against Mr Ampatuan, who is the mayor of Datu Unsay and the son of the province's governor.
Mr Ampatuan was later flown to Manila in a government aircraft and taken to Philippine National Police (PNP) headquarters where he is in the protective custody of the department of justice.
According to the justice secretary, the evidence will be assessed and a decision will be made whether or not to prosecute Mr Ampatuan within 36 hours.
Zamzamin Ampatuan, undersecretary for energy, told local television that the family had told his nephew to "turn himself in". He denied his nephew was involved in the killings, and broke down halfway through the interview, pleading for the violence to stop. "Why should we go through this?" he said.
In an interview broadcast on Al Jazeera television, a man who claims to have witnessed the killings said Andal Ampatuan Jr had paid the men to kill all those travelling in the convoy.
"We were ordered to kill all the Mangudadatu's [a rival political clan] - women and children," he said. "We didn't ask why, we just followed orders," said the masked man who gave his name only as "Boy", a common nickname in the Philippines. He is now said to be in hiding, fearing for his life, but claimed he would be willing to swear an affidavit. He said he was part of the group but was "frozen with horror" with what he saw.
He said holes were dug earlier and the journalists were ordered to be killed to be rid of witnesses.
He told Al Jazeera that the operation took between one and two hours. "But someone called and said the military was coming so we left everything - didn't have time to finish burying everyone," he said.
The president's press secretary, Cerge Remonde, said Mr Ampatuan would "not be given any special treatment".
"The inquest and the subsequent filing of charges against Andal Ampatuan Jr is just the beginning. The government will be relentless in bringing to justice all responsible for the gruesome Maguindanao massacre," he said. "President Arroyo wants all the culprits punished without fear or favour," he added.
Jesus Verosam, a chief of police, told a press briefing in Manila yesterday that he had removed Maguindanao's police chief, ordered the sacking of officers in a number of towns and the local militias.
Speaking at the same press conference, the secretary for interior and local government, Ronaldo Puno, said he would recommend that President Arroyo "suspend indefinitely" all provincial officials in Maguindanao including the governor, Andal Ampatuan Senior.
He said the suspension was necessary for what he called "an impartial investigation of the gruesome massacre".
Monday's atrocity was the result of a feud between two powerful clans - the Ampatuan and the Mangudadatu. Once close allies, the two clans had fallen out in recent years, with the local politician Mr Mangudadatu intending to challenge Mr Ampatuan in next year's election for governor of the province. The Ampatuans have ruled Maguindanao for a decade and the family is loyal to Mrs Arroyo.
Mr Puno said he wanted the Maguindanao governor and all the province's mayors to be suspended because of their close ties with their respective local police forces.
Three police officials in Maguindanao have already been relieved of their duties and are being investigated for their alleged involvement in the massacre - the Maguindanao deputy director chief inspector, Sukarno Adil Dicay; the Ampatuan police chief, Badawe Bakal; and the inspector Ariel Diongon. Apart from Mr Ampatuan and the four police officials, 347 members of the local militia known as the Special Civilian Armed Forces Geographical Unit Active Auxiliary were also being investigated, police said.
Fearing an outbreak of violence, the military moved in overnight to secure the provincial capital and a number of cities and towns in the province known to be loyal to the Ampatuan clan. Whether or not charges are officially laid within the next 36 hours remains to be seen as the Philippine justice system is known to be notoriously slow.
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
How has net migration to UK changed?
The figure was broadly flat immediately before the Covid-19 pandemic, standing at 216,000 in the year to June 2018 and 224,000 in the year to June 2019.
It then dropped to an estimated 111,000 in the year to June 2020 when restrictions introduced during the pandemic limited travel and movement.
The total rose to 254,000 in the year to June 2021, followed by steep jumps to 634,000 in the year to June 2022 and 906,000 in the year to June 2023.
The latest available figure of 728,000 for the 12 months to June 2024 suggests levels are starting to decrease.
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How to play the stock market recovery in 2021?
If you are looking to build your long-term wealth in 2021 and beyond, the stock market is still the best place to do it as equities powered on despite the pandemic.
Investing in individual stocks is not for everyone and most private investors should stick to mutual funds and ETFs, but there are some thrilling opportunities for those who understand the risks.
Peter Garnry, head of equity strategy at Saxo Bank, says the 20 best-performing US and European stocks have delivered an average return year-to-date of 148 per cent, measured in local currency terms.
Online marketplace Etsy was the best performer with a return of 330.6 per cent, followed by communications software company Sinch (315.4 per cent), online supermarket HelloFresh (232.8 per cent) and fuel cells specialist NEL (191.7 per cent).
Mr Garnry says digital companies benefited from the lockdown, while green energy firms flew as efforts to combat climate change were ramped up, helped in part by the European Union’s green deal.
Electric car company Tesla would be on the list if it had been part of the S&P 500 Index, but it only joined on December 21. “Tesla has become one of the most valuable companies in the world this year as demand for electric vehicles has grown dramatically,” Mr Garnry says.
By contrast, the 20 worst-performing European stocks fell 54 per cent on average, with European banks hit by the economic fallout from the pandemic, while cruise liners and airline stocks suffered due to travel restrictions.
As demand for energy fell, the oil and gas industry had a tough year, too.
Mr Garnry says the biggest story this year was the “absolute crunch” in so-called value stocks, companies that trade at low valuations compared to their earnings and growth potential.
He says they are “heavily tilted towards financials, miners, energy, utilities and industrials, which have all been hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic”. “The last year saw these cheap stocks become cheaper and expensive stocks have become more expensive.”
This has triggered excited talk about the “great value rotation” but Mr Garnry remains sceptical. “We need to see a breakout of interest rates combined with higher inflation before we join the crowd.”
Always remember that past performance is not a guarantee of future returns. Last year’s winners often turn out to be this year’s losers, and vice-versa.
UK's plans to cut net migration
Under the UK government’s proposals, migrants will have to spend 10 years in the UK before being able to apply for citizenship.
Skilled worker visas will require a university degree, and there will be tighter restrictions on recruitment for jobs with skills shortages.
But what are described as "high-contributing" individuals such as doctors and nurses could be fast-tracked through the system.
Language requirements will be increased for all immigration routes to ensure a higher level of English.
Rules will also be laid out for adult dependants, meaning they will have to demonstrate a basic understanding of the language.
The plans also call for stricter tests for colleges and universities offering places to foreign students and a reduction in the time graduates can remain in the UK after their studies from two years to 18 months.
Why seagrass matters
- Carbon sink: Seagrass sequesters carbon up to 35X faster than tropical rainforests
- Marine nursery: Crucial habitat for juvenile fish, crustations, and invertebrates
- Biodiversity: Support species like sea turtles, dugongs, and seabirds
- Coastal protection: Reduce erosion and improve water quality
The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins
Read part one: how cars came to the UAE
The years Ramadan fell in May
