Andal Ampatuan Sr. (1940/1941 – July 17, 2015) was a Filipino politician who was the main suspect in the

Maguindanao massacre The Maguindanao massacre (also known as the Ampatuan massacre, named after the town where mass graves of victims were found) occurred on the morning of November 23, 2009, in the town of Ampatuan in Maguindanao, Philippines (now located in Ma ...

. He was the patriarch of the Ampatuan political family in

Maguindanao Maguindanao (; Maguindanaon: ''Dairat nu Magindanaw''; Iranun: ''Perobinsia a Magindanao''; ) was a province of the Philippines located in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM). From 2014 to 2022, its provincial capital ...

province, on the island of

Mindanao Mindanao ( ) is the List of islands of the Philippines, second-largest island in the Philippines, after Luzon, and List of islands by population, seventh-most populous island in the world. Located in the southern region of the archipelago, the ...

in the Philippines. He was elected Governor of Maguindanao in 2001, defeating incumbent Governor Zacaria Candao.

Political career

Ampatuan was a vice mayor when

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Ferdinand Marcos Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos Sr. (September 11, 1917 – September 28, 1989) was a Filipino lawyer, politician, dictator, and Kleptocracy, kleptocrat who served as the tenth president of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. He ruled the c ...

appointed him as mayor and officer-in-charge of Maganoy (now Shariff Aguak). When

Corazon Aquino María Corazón "Cory" Sumulong Cojuangco-Aquino (; January 25, 1933 – August 1, 2009) was a Filipino politician who served as the 11th president of the Philippines and the first woman president in the country, from Presidency of Corazon ...

came into power via the 1986 EDSA

People Power Revolution The People Power Revolution, also known as the EDSA Revolution or the February Revolution, were a series of popular Demonstration (people), demonstrations in the Philippines, mostly in Metro Manila, from February 22 to 25, 1986. There was a ...

, she replaced every locally elected official with officers-in-charge. Ampatuan Sr. was replaced by another Ampatuan, Datu Modi who served for two years in that capacity. After the 1988 local election, Andal Ampatuan Sr. served for ten years as mayor. In the

2001 elections The following elections occurred in the year 2001. Africa * 2001 Beninese presidential election * 2001 Cape Verdean parliamentary election * 2001 Cape Verdean presidential election * 2001 Chadian presidential election * 2001 Gabonese legislative ...

, Andal Sr. was elected as governor. In 2001, the Ampatuan clan solidified its hold on power through a close friendship with

Gloria Macapagal Arroyo Maria Gloria Macaraeg Macapagal-Arroyo (; born April 5, 1947), often referred to as PGMA or GMA, is a Filipino academic and politician who served as the 14th president of the Philippines from Presidency of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, 2001 to 2010 ...

when she assumed the presidency following the

Second EDSA Revolution The Second EDSA Revolution (), also known as the Second People Power Revolution, EDSA 2001, or EDSA II (pronounced ''EDSA Two'' or ''EDSA Dos'', the Spanish word for "two"), was a political protest from January 17–20, 2001 which peacefully ...

. During the 2004 presidential elections, Arroyo dominated the polls in Shariff Aguak and most of

. Amid speculation that cheating had occurred in

and other

provinces, results were contested by Arroyo's main rival, popular actor Fernando Poe Jr. The 2007 midterm elections for the Philippine Senate had Maguindanao in focus once more as it was the only province that returned a 12-0 win for Arroyo's Senate slate, Team Unity. The Citizen Armed Force Geographical Unit (CAFGU) was created on July 25, 1987, when President Aquino signed Executive Order No. 264 entitled "Providing for the Citizen Armed Force". In 2006, Arroyo issued Executive Order 546, allowing local officials and the police to deputize local militia to aid in the fight against insurgents. These are locally known as civilian volunteer organizations or CVOs. The Executive Order was issued shortly after an assassination attempt on Andal Ampatuan Sr.

Role in the Maguindanao massacre

Ampatuan's sons,

Zaldy Ampatuan Zaldy Uy Ampatuan (born August 22, 1967) is a Filipino convicted mass murderer and former politician. He is one of the main perpetrators of the Maguindanao massacre along with his father, brothers, and nephews. He served as Governor of the Auto ...

and

Andal Ampatuan Jr. Andal Uy Ampatuan Jr. (born August 15, 1976) is a Filipino convicted mass murderer and former politician. He is one of the main perpetrators of the Maguindanao massacre along with his father, brothers, and nephews. At the time of the massacre, ...

, are both members of his political clan. Andal Ampatuan Jr. came to international attention in November 2009 as the prime suspect in the

. As a result, all three Ampatuans were expelled from President Arroyo's Lakas–Kampi–CMD political party. Andal Jr. was detained by the Philippines' National Bureau of Investigation and was charged with multiple counts of murder after having been arrested on December 1, 2009. In 2011, Ampatuan pleaded not guilty in court to charges of having overseen the massacre. Before the court case concluded, Ampatuan died on July 17, 2015, in Quezon City after falling into a coma caused by a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

. In 2019 Ampatuan's sons Zaldy, Andal Jr., and Anwar Sr., as well as other relatives and accomplices, were convicted of 57 counts of murder.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ampatuan, Andal 1941 births 2015 deaths Andal Sr. Filipino mass murderers Filipino Muslims Governors of Maguindanao Lakas–CMD politicians Mayors of places in Maguindanao People charged with murder Politicians affected by a party expulsion process