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By Micah McCartney
Reporter
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The mayor of a town in the Philippines’ restive south escaped unharmed Sunday morning after his armored vehicle was struck by a rocket-propelled grenade during an ambush.
Why It Matters
The attack on Mayor Akmad Ampatuan occurred in Shariff Aguak, a town of about 30,000 people in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, or BARMM,
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The area has a history of political violence and has been designated an election hotspot by the Philippine Commission on Elections. Gunmen killed two Shariff Aguak residents were killed by gunmen in January 2025 in the lead-up to elections, and Sunday's was the fourth attempt on Ampatuan’s life since 2014.
Newsweek reached out to the Philippine National Police by email with a request for comment.
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What To Know
CCTV footage shared on social media by the municipal government shows a white van stopped along a roadway at around 6:30 a.m.
Two men are seen emerging from the vehicle, one firing an automatic rifle while the other launches a rocket-propelled grenade. The projectile appears to strike the mayor’s armored Toyota Land Cruiser, which is briefly engulfed in smoke before driving away.
Ampatuan was unharmed, though two members of his security detail were treated for minor abdominal injuries, Mindanews cited mayoral assistant Anwar Kuit Emblawa, as saying.
The suspects fled the scene ad were later cornered in the nearby municipality of Datu Unsay, in Barangay Meta, where they engaged in a shootout with the Philippine National Police and the Philippine Army’s 90th Infantry Battalion.
Three of the four suspects were killed, authorities said.
Police identified the leader of the attack as Budtong “Rap-Rap” Pendatun, who was accompanied by a cousin and an uncle. A sibling, identified as the fourth suspect, remains at large, the Philippine Daily Inquirer cited police as saying.
Pendatun had three outstanding arrest warrants for murder, robbery by band and a firearms violation.
What People Are Saying
Brig. Gen. Randulf Tuaño, the public information chief of the Philippine National Police, told the press: “For now, we’re assessing whether there were security lapses on the part of the local police stations.”
What Happens Next
Tuaño said an investigation is underway to determine whether the suspects had been hired to carry out the attack.
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