Andal "Andy" 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 then-undivided Maguindanao (which is now Magu ...

. He was the patriarch of the Ampatuan political family in

Maguindanao Maguindanao (, Maguindanao language, Maguindanaon: ''Prubinsya nu Magindanaw''; Iranun language, Iranun'': Perobinsia a Magindanao''; tl, Lalawigan ng Maguindanao) was a Provinces of the Philippines, province of the Philippines located in the ...

province, on the island of

Mindanao Mindanao ( ) ( Jawi: مينداناو) is the second-largest island in the Philippines, after Luzon, and seventh-most populous island in the world. Located in the southern region of the archipelago, the island is part of an island group of ...

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

Zacaria Candao Datu Zacaria A. Candao is a Filipino politician who served as the first governor of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM). Career Maguindanao governor (until 1977) Zacaria Candao became the second governor of the Maguindanao province s ...

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: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Ferdinand Marcos Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos Sr. ( , , ; September 11, 1917 – September 28, 1989) was a Filipino politician, lawyer, dictator, and kleptocrat who was the 10th president of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. He ruled under martial ...

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

Corazon Aquino Maria Corazon "Cory" Sumulong Cojuangco-Aquino (; ; January 25, 1933 – August 1, 2009) was a Filipina politician who served as the 11th president of the Philippines from 1986 to 1992. She was the most prominent figure of the 1986 People P ...

came into power via the 1986 EDSA

People Power Revolution The People Power Revolution, also known as the EDSA Revolution or the February Revolution, was 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 legislat ...

, 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 by her initials GMA, is a Filipino academic and politician serving as one of the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Philippines, House Deputy Spe ...

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

. Amid speculation that cheating had occurred in

and other

provinces, results were contested by Arroyo's main rival, popular actor

Fernando Poe Jr. Ronald Allan Kelley Poe (August 20, 1939 – December 14, 2004), known professionally as Fernando Poe Jr., and often referred to by his initials FPJ, was a Filipino actor, film director, producer, screenwriter, and politician. His long and s ...

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. 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.

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 Autono ...

and

Andal Ampatuan Jr. Andal "Datu Unsay" 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 t ...

, 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 Gloria 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 1 December 2009. In 2011 Ampatuan pled not guilty in court to charges of having overseen the massacre. Before the court case concluded, Ampatuan died on 17 July 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 blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

. 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 Filipino mass murderers Governors of Maguindanao Mayors of places in Maguindanao Andal Sr. Lakas–CMD politicians Filipino Muslims