MANILA, Philippines—Malacañang exulted on Thursday over the surrender of Datu Unsay Mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr. in connection with the Maguindanao massacre, ruling out any special treatment for him.

“The taking in, inquest and the subsequent filing of charges against Datu Unsay [Mayor] Ampatuan is just the beginning,” Press Secretary Cerge Remonde said. “President Arroyo wants all the culprits punished without fear or favor.”

Undersecretary Lorelei Fajardo, deputy presidential spokesperson, allayed fears that Andal Jr., a known political ally of the Arroyo administration, would get VIP treatment while in government custody.

“We treat people the same way. We will follow the law,” she said in a Malacañang briefing.

Police Director Andres Caro said that investigators were not ruling out the involvement of Maguindanao Governor Andal Ampatuan Sr. and Governor Zaldy Ampatuan of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao in the massacre.

“We are also looking into that,” the Philippine National Police director for operations said when asked in the briefing whether investigators were looking into the conspiracy.

The civilians were killed on a highway in Shariff Aguak town in Maguindanao, where investigators recovered a backhoe that belonged to the provincial government headed by Andal Sr.

The PNP and Malacañang, however, were hard put at explaining why the authorities opted to let Andal Jr. surrender, instead of putting the cuffs on him.

Caro admitted that Secretary Jesus Dureza, as head of the crisis management committee, was given free rein to persuade Andal Jr. to submit himself for questioning in the face of reports linking him to the crime.

“By night time (Tuesday night) the family committed to bring the mayor to Secretary Dureza. This did not materialize Wednesday but happened today,” he said.

He said that there was no order for his arrest because at the time he was not yet considered a suspect. He said it was only on Wednesday when he was considered a suspect based on witnesses' affidavits.

Fajardo clarified that Dureza did not negotiate for Andal's surrender, saying the marching order from Arroyo was for him “to get all people involved and take into custody all people involved.”

“It was Dureza's call to go to Ampatuan to determine what should be done by the committee based on the situation on the ground. The President gave her full confidence by creating the crisis committee,” she said.

“There was no negotiation or appeasement whatsoever... We should understand the very complex situation in the ground,” she added.

Caro explained the situation on the ground was complex because of several factors.

“This is an autonomous regional government area. There is actual real immediate threat from MILF (Moro Islamic Liberation Front) groups. There are infamous reports of warlordism culture and we have to admit to thefact that some of our local security forces are in some way were or are under influence of political leaders,” he said. “We cannot trust the local forces so we have to inject troops from the outside.”