The families of journalists killed in the election-related Ampatuan Massacre in the Philippines petitioned on 3 February 2010 the newly formed ASEAN Intergovernmental Human Rights Commission (AICHR) to ensure justice to the victims, media reports said.

Thirty-one journalists, among 57 people who had been on their way to register a gubernatorial candidate, were apprehended and killed in Ampatuan town, Maguindanao province by gunmen believed to be led by the scion of a powerful political clan which has close links with President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo

The Associated Press said relatives of 14 of the journalists filed a 23-page petition before the Jakarta, Indonesia-based AICHR, asking the commission to make the Philippine government accountable to the victims.

Lawyer Harry Roque, who leads a group of lawyers representing the victims, said the Philippine government is liable for the crime under international law because the suspects were state agents, namely policemen, soldiers, militamen and local officials.

Prime suspect Andal Ampatuan Jr., mayor of a town in Maguindanao province, has been charged with multiple murder. His father, Ampatuan senior, along with 160 others, were charged with murder and rebellion.

The Ampatuans are seen as staunch allies of the President, having delivered crucial votes for her in the province during the 2004 election. The victims' relatives said in the petition that there are "well-founded fears that the Philippine state will be under very heavy pressure from the Ampatuans to whitewash the investigation or to cover up crucial evidence."

The human rights body was launched in October 2009 during the ASEAN summit.