Andal Ampatuan Sr.

Andal "Andy" Ampatuan Sr. (1940/1941 – July 17, 2015) was a main suspect in the Maguindanao massacre. He was the patriarch of the Ampatuan political family in Maguindanao province, on the island of Mindanao in the Philippines. He was elected Governor of Maguindanao in 2001, defeating incumbent Governor Zacaria Candao in the gubernatorial election on May 14, 2001.

Andal Ampatuan Sr.
Governor of Maguindanao
In office 2001–2008
Preceded by	Zacaria Candao
Succeeded by	Nariman Ambolodto
Personal details
Born	C. 1940 Mindanao, Philippines
Died	12 July 2015 (aged 74–75) Quezon City, Philippines

Political career

Ampatuan was already a vice mayor when President Ferdinand E. Marcos appointed him as mayor and officer-in-charge of Maganoy (now Shariff Aguak). When Corazon Aquino came into power via the 1986 EDSA People Power Revolution, 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.[1]

After the 1988 local election, Andal Ampatuan Sr. served for ten years as mayor. In the 1998 elections, Andal Sr. was elected as governor.[2]

In 2001, the Ampatuan clan solidified its hold on power through a close friendship with Gloria Macapagal Arroyo when she assumed the presidency after EDSA People Power II. During the 2004 presidential elections, Arroyo dominated the polls in Shariff Aguak and most of Maguindanao. Amid speculation that cheating had occurred in Maguindanao and other Mindanao provinces, results were contested by Arroyo's main rival, popular actor Fernando Poe Jr.. The 2007 mid term elections for the Philippines 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.[3]

The Citizen Armed Force Geographic Unit (CAFGU) was created on July 25, 1987, when President Corazon C. 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.[4]

Role in the Maguindanao massacre

Ampatuan's sons, Zaldy Ampatuan and Andal Ampatuan Jr., are both members of his political clan. Andal Ampatuan Jr. came to international attention in November 2009 as the prime suspect in the Maguindanao massacre.[5] As a result, all three Ampatuans were expelled from President Gloria Arroyo's Lakas Kampi CMD political party.[5] Andal Jr. was detained by the Philippines' National Bureau of Investigation and was charged with multiple counts of murder after having been arrested on 1 December 2009.[6]

In 2011 Ampatuan pled not guilty in court to charges of having overseen the massacre.[7]

Before the court case concluded, Ampatuan died on 17 July 2015 in Quezon City after falling into a coma caused by a heart attack.[8]

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

1. "Cory gave Ampatuan patriarch his break". Retrieved 3 June 2013.
2. "Cory gave Ampatuan patriarch his break". Newsbreak Online. 2009-11-26. Archived from the original on 2011-09-30. Retrieved 28 November 2009.
3. "Lotto Results for November 25, 2009". Archived from the original on 6 September 2012. Retrieved 3 June 2013.
4. "In Maguindanao, no one dares cross the Ampatuans". Retrieved 3 June 2013.
5. Conde, Carlos H.; Norimitsu Onishi (November 25, 2009). "Suspect in Philippine Election Killings Surrenders". The New York Times. Retrieved 26 November 2009.
6. "Andal Ampatuan Jr Murder". Huffington Post. Retrieved 3 June 2013.
7. "Philippines massacre: Andal Ampatuan Sr denies killings". BBC News. 1 June 2011.
8. ABS-CBNnews.com, By Aaron Lozada. "Andal Ampatuan Sr. is dead". ABS-CBN News.