Shariff Aguak Mayor Survives RPG Ambush as 3 Attackers Are Killed

Cotabato City (MindaNews / January 25) — A daring pre-dawn attack targeting Shariff Aguak Mayor Akmad Ampatuan using a rocket-propelled grenade failed to kill the mayor but left two of his aides wounded early Sunday morning. Three suspects riding in a white van were killed during a pursuit by a joint police-military team.

This was the third attack on Ampatuan since 2014.

“The mayor is safe,” his executive assistant, Anwar Quit Mblawa, said in a message to journalists in Cotabato City.

Ampatuan, a grandson of the late patriarch Datu Andal Ampatuan Sr., was returning home from the market in his black bulletproof Toyota Land Cruiser when the attack occurred at around 6:30 a.m. in Barangay Poblacion, nearly across from the municipal compound. His backup vehicle, a pickup truck, was hit by gunfire.

His son, Shariff Aguak Vice Mayor Hadji Oping Ampatuan, posted a reel containing CCTV footage of the attack. The video shows two armed men stepping out of a white minivan, one of whom immediately fired a makeshift rocket-propelled grenade at the mayor’s vehicle, which sped away despite the attack.

Mblawa said two security personnel — PFC Manuel Arcega Dondigo and Lackman Eso Tips, who sustained minor injuries — were taken to the Bangsamoro Regional and Medical Center in Datu Hoffer City for treatment of abdominal injuries.

Following the attack, the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Philippine Army’s 90th Infantry Battalion launched a joint “hot pursuit” operation.

Several hours later, the suspects were cornered in Barangay Metate, Datu Unsay. During the ensuing firefight, three suspects were killed. They were identified as Budtong “Rap-Rap” Alim Pendatun, Tekz Malid Pendatun, and Puasa Oting Madid.

The mayor had survived two previous attacks: one on December 24, 2014, when his convoy was ambushed in Guindulungan town while he was serving as vice mayor, and another on December 24, 2019, in Shariff Aguak town. In the 2014 attack, he survived but two of his companions were killed. In the 2019 incident, he was injured and two of his security personnel were killed.

Police Regional Office BARMM spokesperson P/Capt. Steffie Salanguit confirmed the tactical nature of the attack. “CCTV footage showed the suspects exiting a van, with one carrying an RPG. Despite the damage and smoke, the vehicle kept moving. Our personnel acted bravely to repel the attack.”

The Shariff Aguak Municipal Police Station issued a statement condemning the “disturbers of peace” and confirmed that a B40 RPG launcher and several high-powered rifles were recovered from the suspects’ getaway vehicle.