Death toll rises in Philippines massacre

Manila, Philippines (CNN) - Search teams pulled 24 more bodies from shallow graves in the Philippines Tuesday bringing the death toll to 46 in a "horrible massacre" before the provincial elections, state media reported.
The Philippine government declared a state of emergency in southern regions of the country after the shooting on Monday that government officials called the worst violence before the elections in U.S. history.
The army was deployed Tuesday in parts of Maguindanao to prevent further violence, the Philippine News Agency.
On Monday, the group of hostages - which included the wife of gubernatorial candidate Ismael "Toto" Mangudadatu - was abducted while in a convoy to submit nomination papers for the May election. He had been warned he would be kidnapped if the documents presented itself.
The agency also said the government was putting the survivors of the attack on witness protection.
Video: Filipino hostage killings
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Monday to about 100 gunmen attacked the convoy, which included journalists, military officials. The hostages were forced to leave their vehicles in a mountainous area.
The dead include Mangudadatu wife and one sister, according to family members speaking on local television.
The army said the gunmen loyal to the governor of Maguindanao, Andal Ampatuan, who has controlled the area for a decade and is a longtime ally of Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. Neither Ampatuan nor any of its directors has ruled on the alleged murder.
Maguindanao is a province of Mindanao, a Muslim autonomous region outside central government control.
Elections in the Philippines have been marred by violence, but kidnappings and murders in broad daylight on Monday, have shocked the nation.
Arroyo quickly condemned the killings. Jesus Dureza, an adviser to the president, called "a horrible slaughter of civilians unmatched in recent history.