They were on their way to the election office on Monday to file candidacy papers for him.
The massacre occurred when a convoy was making its way to Shariff Aguak, the provincial capital of Maguindanao, to file candidacy forms for Esmael Mangudadatu, the deputy mayor of a small town, Buluan.
About 30 of the victims were journalists and media support staff who were accompanying a group of people on their way to file candidacy papers for a political rival of Mr. Ampatuan Jr.
She filed candidacy papers with her new running mate, Marisol A. Johnson, a former Baltimore County school board member who was born in El Salvador and is the first Latino to hold public office in the county.
The victims were reportedly stopped on their way to an election office to file candidacy papers for Esmael Mangudadatu, the deputy mayor of the town of Buluan, who plans to run for governor of Maguindanao.
Prosecutors say 57 people died a year ago Tuesday in a massacre that shocked even this country, which has long been accustomed to political violence: the gunning down of a convoy of people on their way to file candidacy papers for a rival of Andal Ampatuan Jr., scion of a family that has long dominated the strife-torn province of Maguindanao.
Andal Ampatuan Jr., son of the family patriarch, is on trial for the Nov. 23, 2009, killings in Maguindanao, whose 57 victims included about 30 journalists and media support staff members who were with a group of people on their way to file candidacy papers for a political rival of Mr. Ampatuan.
He said they had been filing his candidacy documents in the hope that women would not be attacked.
The filing of candidacy documents for the local and national elections, scheduled for next May, began Friday.
