菲律参与大屠杀的政客将被指控

A member of a powerful clan suspected of involvement in the killing in the Philippines of 57 people faces multiple murder charges, prosecutors say.

菲律宾公诉人称，某强势宗派一名成员涉嫌参与杀害57人而面临多重谋杀罪指控。

Andal Ampatuan Jr (right) has been taken to Manila for questioning

Andal Ampatuan Jr, a local mayor, surrendered to the authorities but denied organising the killings.

Troops and police swooped on towns run by the Ampatuan clan（氏族，宗派）, arresting 20 men suspected of links with the killings.

The massacre（大屠杀） happened on Monday, when a convoy（护送） of vehicles used by a rival politician was ambushed（埋伏）.

The passengers were taken to a remote hill region, shot at close range and their bodies dumped in shallow graves.

Militia disarmed

Mr Ampatuan Jr - mayor of Datu Unsay town - was taken by helicopter from his hometown in the restive（倔强的） Maguindanao province on Thursday morning to the nearby airport at General Santos City. From there he was flown to the capital Manila for questioning.

"It's not true," Mr Ampatuan Jr said when asked by reporters at General Santos City airport whether he had been involved in the massacre.

Chief State Prosecutor Jovencito Zuno said he would file murder charges against Mr Ampatuan Jr on Friday, Associated Press news agency reported.

The military said the Ampatuan family had voluntarily handed over Mr Ampatuan Jr to officials, including Jesus Dureza, an adviser to the president.

About 20 other suspects, including senior members of the Maguindanao's provincial police force and officers of Ampatuan township's force, are in custody（被拘留） and being investigated.

Police also rounded up and disarmed a 350-member militia（自卫队，国民军） force under the control of the Ampatuan clan, on Thursday.

Other members of the militia allegedly involved in the killings had fled and are being hunted in the hills of Maguindanao province.

The Philippines authorities have been coming under increasing pressure to bring the perpetrators of Monday's attack to justice, according to the BBC's South East Asia correspondent Rachel Harvey.

The Ampatuan clan have been loyal supporters of the president - but since the killings, Mr Ampatuan Jr, his father and his brother Zalday have been expelled（驱逐，开除） from her party.

President Arroyo, who earlier declared a national day of mourning, has promised that the gunmen would not escape justice.