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Philippine poll attack toll rises Philippine 'emergency' declared
(about 1 hour later)
At least 24 bodies have been found in the southern Philippines and police say they have found more in shallow graves. The Philippine government has placed two southern provinces under a state of emergency, after gunmen killed at least 24 people on Monday.
The bodies are from a 40-strong group of politicians and journalists which was seized in an attack blamed on clan warfare ahead of next year's elections. President Gloria Arroyo said the new powers would allow police and soldiers to set up checkpoints and conduct random searches to find the gunmen.
The government has declared a state of emergency in two provinces, Maguindanao and Sultan Kudarat and Cotabato city. The victims were killed as they were travelling to file nomination papers for elections next May.
The toll is expected to rise from an attack, the savagery of which has shocked the government and observers. The attack is one of worst incidents of pre-poll violence in the Philippines.
The state of emergency would allow the police and military to use random searches and set-up checkpoints. There are conflicting reports about whether anyone survived.
There are conflicting reports about whether anyone survived an attack.
More bodiesMore bodies
All the victims were civilians, including the wife of the vice mayor of Buluan, a town in Ampatuan, Maguindanao province who had intended to file nomination papers for her husband to run for governor in local elections next year. On Monday it was announced that 21 bodies had been found. This number has now increased to 24 and the death toll from the incident is expected to rise still further.
"It's a big area where these bodies were found. They are finding a couple of bodies every couple of hours or so," Interior Secretary Ronaldo Puno was quoted as saying by AFP news agency. ANALYSIS Vaudine England, BBC Asia analyst The brutality of the killings in Maguindanao has highlighted the domination of Philippines politics by guns, warlords and lawlessness.
It has also changed the nature of "rido", the local word for clan wars and vendetta. Rido has long focused on election disputes or land conflicts and has involved killing, but usually of one person at a time and avoiding the killing of women or non-relatives. This incident targeted women and journalists who were not members of either powerful family involved.
Complicating the mix in Mindanao is the ongoing Muslim and communist insurgencies which have long been used by the authorities to justify new sources of funding for local favourites. Clan link to killings
It's a big area where these bodies were found. They are finding a couple of bodies every couple of hours or so," Interior Secretary Ronaldo Puno was quoted as saying by AFP news agency.
He described a farming area covered in hastily dug graves, several kilometres away from where the killing is thought to have occurred. A bulldozer was parked nearby.He described a farming area covered in hastily dug graves, several kilometres away from where the killing is thought to have occurred. A bulldozer was parked nearby.
Mr Puno said the extra bodies being recovered were on top of the 22 accounted for in the official death toll, but he would not speculate on how many people in total had been murdered.
"They are still looking for some missing persons. A number of other bodies were found. I can't really reveal the details now. It's a large number," Mr Puno told the ABS-CBN television network in the Philippines."They are still looking for some missing persons. A number of other bodies were found. I can't really reveal the details now. It's a large number," Mr Puno told the ABS-CBN television network in the Philippines.
Mr Puno said the extra bodies being recovered were on top of the 22 accounted for in the official death toll, but he would not speculate on how many people in total had been murdered.
All the victims were civilians, including the wife of the vice mayor of Buluan, a town in Maguindanao province, who had intended to file nomination papers for her husband to run for governor in local elections next year.
An investigator at the scene told reporters all victims had been shot at close range, some in their vehicles and others apparently while fleeing.An investigator at the scene told reporters all victims had been shot at close range, some in their vehicles and others apparently while fleeing.
Elections in the Philippines are often marred by violence, particularly in the south, where clashes connected to local rivalries and insurgencies erupt.Elections in the Philippines are often marred by violence, particularly in the south, where clashes connected to local rivalries and insurgencies erupt.
The country is to hold nationwide elections in May 2010. Registration for local and national races began earlier this month.The country is to hold nationwide elections in May 2010. Registration for local and national races began earlier this month.
Jesus Dureza, adviser to President Gloria Arroyo in the volatile Mindanao region, said it was "a gruesome massacre of civilians unequalled in recent history". Both communist rebels and separatist Islamist insurgents are fighting government troops there, and local politics can be dominated by strongmen backed up by private militias.
Both communist rebels and separatist Muslim insurgents are fighting government troops there, and local politics can be dominated by strongmen backed up by private militias.
The BBC's Vaudine England says both clans in this case are allied to Mrs Arroyo, limiting analysts' expectations of any effective response from the central government.The BBC's Vaudine England says both clans in this case are allied to Mrs Arroyo, limiting analysts' expectations of any effective response from the central government.