MAGUINDANAO DEL SUR, Philippines – Shariff Aguak, Maguindanao del Sur Mayor Akmad Ampatuan may well be a political cat with nine lives. 

A witness against his own relatives in the 2009 Maguindanao massacre, Ampatuan dodged death once again on Sunday, January 25, when a rocket-propelled grenade slammed into his armored vehicle in broad daylight in the town of Shariff Aguak.

Ampatuan survived the attack, while two members of his security detail and a civilian were wounded in the attack carried out at around 6:30 am in Barangay Poblacion.

Hours later, authorities cornered suspects in Barangay Meta in the neighboring town of Datu Unsay. Three suspects were killed in a subsequent shootout, police said, identifying them as Budtong “Rap-Rap” Alim Pendatun, Tekz Malid Pendatun, and Puasa Oting Madid.

Recovered from the suspects were a rocket launcher and several high-powered firearms, police added.

“The mayor is safe. He was inside his bulletproof SUV when the attack happened. It is a miracle,” said Anwar Kuit Emblawa, executive assistant to the mayor. “We are coordinating closely with the authorities to find the mastermind.”

Ampatuan is a prominent and polarizing figure in local politics in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), particularly in the Maguindanao provinces. 

Akmad is a member of the Ampatuan clan, which once dominated politics in the then-undivided Maguindanao and now-defunct Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM). 

He broke ranks with his relatives after the 2009 Maguindanao massacre, in which 58 people, including 32 journalists, were killed. He then testified for the prosecution against them, including the late clan patriarch Andal Ampatuan Sr. and his sons.

On Sunday, police said, the mayor was returning home from a mosque when assailants riding a mini-van attacked his two-vehicle convoy at a downtown intersection.

The attack marked at least the fourth major attempt on Akmad’s life.

In December 2014, while serving as vice mayor, Ampatuan survived an ambush on his convoy in Guindulungan town that killed two of his escorts. 

On December 24, 2019, he was wounded in another ambush in Shariff Aguak that again left two security personnel dead.

There was also an attempt on his life in 2010 in Shariff Aguak, a few months after the Maguindano massacre.  

Police said investigations were ongoing to determine whether the attack was politically motivated or linked to the massacre case. Security forces in Maguindanao del Sur went on heightened alert.

CCTV footage showed one of the suspects alighting from the vehicle and fired the anti-tank rocket directly at the mayor’s black, bulletproof Toyota Land Cruiser.

The explosion produced a large plume of smoke, but the armored vehicle absorbed the powerful impact with Akmad inside. His security team, traveling in a trailing pickup truck, returned fire, triggering a brief gunfight in the town center.

Captain Steffi Salanguit, BARMM spokesperson, said the attack was well-planned.

“Despite the damage and the smoke, the vehicle kept moving,” while the police quickly moved to repel the attack, Salanguit said.

During a news conference on Monday, January 26, the mayor pleaded with the government for protection.

“This cannot happen again,” Ampatuan said, expressing shock at the firepower used against him. “I didn’t think they would use a weapon that large. An RPG is not something an ordinary person uses. This was professional.”

Despite the recurring violence, he noted a troubling trend: many of his security aides were repeatedly withdrawn before these incidents occurred.

He said his security detail from the Department of Justice (DOJ) and his police escorts had recently been pulled. “On December 3, 2025, I was left without an escort. I have to be careful now because I am vulnerable,” Akmad said.

He said he remained baffled by the identity and motives of his attackers. 

“If this is about politics, the elections [in Shariff Aguak] are over. It should be finished… I don’t know who did this or where they came from. I don’t even know the group ‘Blackstone.’ I am not their enemy,” he said.

Akmad added, “I am not afraid of them. I will continue my work. I have my faith in Allah to face the people.” – Rappler.com