Jaileen Jimeno ng Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism wrote a backgrounder on the Ampatuan clan:MAGUINDANAO  The sound of sirens precedes the passing of a long convoy of 4Ãâ€â€4 sport utility vehicles. As if on cue, jeepneys and private vehicles begin moving to the right side of the street, where they all then ground to halt.
“Kailangan tumabi ka, kasi babanggain ka nila. Palalabasin nilang kaaway ka (You have to get out of their way, otherwise they’ll hit your car. And then they’ll make it appear you’re one of their enemies),†explains an old man watching the scene by the roadside.
Asked if he knows whose convoy of black, heavily tinted vehicles is whizzing by, the man replies without hesitation: “Si Governor.
Ganyan ang mga sasakyan niya (That’s how his vehicles look like).â€ÂÂ
In the last two weeks, this southern province has become one of the sites of a serial cat-and-mouse battle between soldiers and rebels from a faction of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), displacing thousands of people. But the armed clashes aside, residents here know that only one family wields real power in Maguindanao: the Ampatuans, led by its acknowledged patriarch, Governor Andal Ampatuan.
It may not only be peace between combatants but respite from political clans that Maguindanao needs.
A FAMILIAR SIGHT. A convoy of black, heavily tinted vehicles carrying the Ampatuans around Maguindanao. [photo by Jaileen Jimeno]
Read more here...
http://pcij.org/stories/amid-the-fighting-the-clan-rules-in-maguindanao/