MANILA, Philippines -- President Macapagal-Arroyo gave Interior and Local Government Secretary Ronaldo Puno on Friday, authority to exercise control over the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao and relieve officials in connection with the massacre in Maguindanao.

Ms Arroyo met with Puno, National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales and acting Justice Secretary Agnes Devanadera Friday morning in Malacañang to get updates on the case.

``The President has given Secretary Puno full powers of supervision even of the ARMM, which means Secretary Puno is now free to carry out his own recommendation,'' Press Secretary Cerge Remonde said in a briefing. (The ARMM governor is Zaldy Ampatuan, the brother of Datu Unsay Mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr., the prime suspect in the Maguindanao massacre.)

With the new authority, Puno could carry out his recommendation to relieve local government officials, as well as military and police officials in connection with the massacre, and replace them, Remonde said.

``Part of the responsibility of Secretary Puno when he does that is to ensure that he relieves or suspends anybody, appropriate replacements will be installed to ensure the continued good functioning of government,'' he said.

The objective, he stressed, was to ``help restore normalcy, peace and order, and of course provide an atmosphere conducive for an efficient and effective investigation unfettered by fear or intimidation.''

Remonde said that the government has assembled a strong case against the suspects, but declined to go into details.

He dismissed Datu Unsay Mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr.'s claim that the Moro Islamic Liberation Front carried out the massacre, saying this was the ``word of a suspect."

``We can't estimate the number of witnesses. That's for the court to determine. Secretary Devanadera said that there's a strong case against certain people, and they continue to develop the strong case,'' he said.

Remonde admitted that Ms Arroyo directed the three officials to employ the ``full machinery'' of government to arrest the suspects and protect the witnesses, saying this was the only way for the country to redeem its honor before the world.

``The Maguindanao massacre is a painful reminder of how man can regress to a state of savagery. We are condemned by the whole world. The killing of at least 57 people, including lawyers and our brothers and sisters, should be an aberration,'' he said.