Andal Ampatuan, Sr.
| Andal Ampatuan, Sr. | |
|---|---|
| Governor of Maguindanao | |
| In office 2001–2008 |
|
| Preceded by | Zacaria Candao |
| Succeeded by | Nariman Ambolodto |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1940/1941 Philippines |
| Died | July 17, 2015 Quezon City, Philippines |
Andal Ampatuan, Sr. (1940/1941 – July 17, 2015) 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. Ampatuan was suspected of involvement in the November 2009 Maguindanao massacre.
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]
During the 1988 local elections, Andal Ampatuan Sr. then served for ten years. 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 Aquak 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]
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. is currently detained at the Philippines' National bureau of Investigation and has been charged with multiple counts of murder after having been arrested on 1 December 2009.[6]
References
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