REFUGEE

The Philippine government placed part of the restive southern region under emergency rule on Tuesday as police and soldiers dug up more bodies in a hilly mass grave, bringing the death toll of one of the country's worst election-related killings to 46.

As night fell in remote Maguindanao province, security forces wrapped up a day's digging with shovels, excavators and -- in some cases -- bare hands, only to find 25 extra bodies of journalists, lawyers and supporters of a local politician, who irked the region's most powerful clan. Authorities are still verifying if there is any survivor from Monday's gruesome massacre which targeted more than 50 civilians. Twenty-one bodies were recovered on the first day.

Dead bodies lie on the ground near their vehicles at the crime scene of a massacre of a political clan that included several journalists in the outskirts of Ampatuan, Maguindanao in southern Philippines Nov. 24, 2009.(Xinhua/Reuters Photo)

By 6 p.m. local time Tuesday, 46 people were confirmed dead, including 21 women and 13 local journalists, said Col. Janathan Ponce, a regional army spokesman. The retrieval will resume on Wednesday.

The victims were on a convoy through the Amputuan town on Monday to register Esmail Mangudadatu as governor candidate for next year's provincial election. They were stopped by around 100 militiamen and were herded away from the main road before being shot in front, at close range, by M-16 rifles, said Commander Felicisimo Khu, who heads the task force to deal with the case. Machete wounds were also found on victims' bodies.

A shallow grave of victims is dug at the scene of a massacre of a political clan, which included several journalists, on the outskirts of Ampatuan, Maguindanao in southern Philippines Nov. 24, 2009.(Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

Genalyn Tiamzon-Mangudadatu, who planned to file the candidacy papers on behalf of her husband, was among the dead.

Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on Tuesday placed Maguindanao, the neighboring province of Sultan Kudarat and Cotabato city under the state of emergency, which gives police and military liberty to arrest and detain suspects.

"I order all units to pursue the perpetrators, to restore order and secure affected areas in Maguindanao," Arroyo told Tuesday's cabinet meeting, which was held in Manila instead of Boracay, the country's tourist island, because of the killing.

Residents gather at the scene of a massacre in the southern township of Ampatuan in Maguindanao, November 24, 2009.(Xinhua/Jef Maitem

Press Secretary said Arroyo has assured an impartial investigation in "this unconscionable, barbaric and dastardly act" no matter who gets hurt.

National Police Chief Jesus Versoza flew into Maguindanao to personally direct the pursue and rescue operations.

"No one will be untouchable in this case," he said.

Meanwhile, more than 70 civilians gathered near one entrance of the Malacanang Presidential Palace at Tuesday noon time to rally for the massacre victims.

In between drizzles, they wore white head-bands, lid candles and held white flowers tied with banners saying "Justice for the victims of the Maguindanao Massacre".

Political violence is not uncommon in the Philippines, especially in Muslim Mindanao, a region plagued by decades of insurgency battles and flooded with loose arms.

But the indiscriminate killing of women, working journalists, and civilian supporters shocked the nation.

In a statement issued on Monday, the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) said they will hold accountable the civil and security officials in Mindanao for their failure to end "the culture of violence and warlordism that lays waste not only to those who engage in politics but to innocent victims as well."

The NUJP also called on fellow journalists "to band together and demand no less."

Presidential Adviser for Mindanao Jesus Dureza described the killing as a "gruesome massacre unequaled in recent history". He suggests "everyone be disarmed" in the emergency rule but most people doubt that the region's warlords would follow the order to lay down guns.

Political analysts now foresee a gloomy picture of election security as the massacre occurred just days after the process for the May 2010 elections kicked off. More than 100 people were killed in election-related violence in the last national elections in 2007.