Justice Acting Secretary Agnes VST Devanadera formed a team of prosecutors to assist the Task Force against Media Killings to swiftly conduct an investigation into the beheading of civilians including members of media who were with a convoy of politicians and their supporters en route to file certificates of candidacy.

�I have ordered the creation of a panel to coordinate with the NBI to immediately conduct an investigation, and likewise ordered the prosecutors of North Cotabato to confer with the victims� families for them to avail of the benefits under the Victim�s Compensation Program (Board of Claims) and closely coordinate with law enforcement agencies for the case-build up to ensure the expeditious prosecution of all those responsible for this atrocity,� Devanadera stressed.

�The Department of Justice shall expedite the investigation of these cases until the perpetrators are arrested, prosecuted and convicted,� she said.

The Task Force 211 Head Undersecretary Ricardo Blancaflor will join the DOJ-NBI team and proceed immediately to Maguindanao to supervise the investigation.

Fifty-seven people yesterday were beheaded and shot dead in a remote area in Ampatuan town in Maguindanao. The dead included the wife of a vice mayor, two lawyers and at least 12 reporters.

Reports had it that the military found at least 21 bodies after a band of more than 100 gunmen hijacked a group of supporters of the mayor who were about to file certificates of candidacy. Some of the bodies were buried, and a backhoe used for digging was still in the area when authorities arrived in the place of the incident.