Justice Secretary Agnes Devanadera said on Saturday afternoon that many of those who will be arrested in Maguindanao after President Arroyo’s declaration of martial law in the province will be charged with rebellion.

“Lahat ng mahuhuli ngayon rebellion na ang kaso nila… Lahat ng mahuhuli during this martial law and after processing then they will be charged for that,” Devanadera said at a press conference in Malacañang.

The justice secretary’s statement came amid criticisms that President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s Proclamation 1959, declaring a state of martial law and suspending the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus in Maguindanao, was without legal basis.

Critics of the declaration, among them human rights lawyers and opposition leaders, said the proclamation cannot be justified since there is no rebellion or invasion going on in Maguindanao.

But Devanadera explained there is rebellion in Maguindanao, citing police and military reports of groups of armed men massing in the whole province.

Brig. Gen. Gaudencio Pangilinan, operations chief  of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), said they have received intelligence reports that armed supporters of the Ampatuans, in groups of between 50 to 100, were seen in 8 areas.

There were also  indications that “violence was imminent,” as the government tightened its hold on the province. He said these groups had the capability of attacking the Ampatuans’ rivals, the Mangudadatus, or mobile phone sites.

Arms cache

Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita, in an earlier press conference, said the sightings of armed groups were aggravated by the discovery of a huge arms cache from a vacant lot near the residence of Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao Gov. Zaldy Ampatuan.

The military said the weapons recovered from the vacant lot can supply a brigade-size military unit.

“We have evaluated different reports submitted by law enforcement agencies. We have found that in some areas, rebellion has been completed because they have removed from the duly constituted authorities the allegiance of people because they don’t follow authorities,” Devandera said.

She said judicial offices in the province have been shut down because all judges and prosecutors have taken leaves of absence to avoid being involved in cases filed against members of the powerful political clan of the Ampatuans.

The justice secretary added that municipal and other government offices have been shut down by local officials, allegedly allied with the Ampatuans, which is an “overt act showing they are following some other forces” other than the government.

Insurgent Ampatuans?

Devanadera could not immediately say if the people who have been initially arrested for their possible involvement in the massacre are among those who will be charged with rebellion.

Press Secretary Cerge Remonde, in the same press conference, said the charges to be filed might vary.

“Depende kung bakit nahuli and ano ang ebidensya (It would depend on why they were arrested and on the evidence),” Remonde said.

Lt. Gen. Raymundo Ferrer, commander of the military’s Eastern Mindanao Command, confirmed in a separate media briefing in Maguindanao that the ARMM governor and his family are being investigated in connection with the huge arms cache recovered on Thursday night near his residence.

Devanadera said people responsible for the huge arms cache have the capacity to commit “unordinary lawlessness.”

The ARMM governor was arrested after the martial declaration. He has been brought to General Santos City.

His father, Maguindanao Gov. Andal Ampatuan Sr., has been confined at the Davao Doctors’ Hospital in Davao City guarded by a government soldier.

Other Ampatuans arrested

The other Ampatuans arrested were: ARMM Vice-Governor Akmad Ampatuan Sr., Shariff Aguak Mayor Anwar Ampatuan, and Cahoner Ampatuan, a Sangguniang Bayan member of Shariff Aguak.

Security forces have also arrested local officials. They were Paisal Sulaik, a Sangguniang Member of Shariff Aguak; Keise Usman, regional secretary of agriculture and of the ARMM; and, Kabuntalan Emblawa, regional environment secretary of the ARMM.

A total of six Ampatuans have been arrested, including another son of the Maguindanao governor, Datu Unsay Mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr., who has been charged with 25 counts of murder for the massacre.

Ampatuan Jr. is currently detained at the National Bureau of Investigation headquarters in Manila.

Devanadera said the DOJ will try to file rebellion and murder charges against the Ampatuans and the other arrested personalities before the 72-hour deadline lapses.

She also assured that President Arroyo will report on the declaration in 48 hours in a joint session of Congress.