.png){kind=logo}
1 week ago
11
Upgrade to High-Speed Internet for only ₱1499/month!
Enjoy up to 100 Mbps fiber broadband, perfect for browsing, streaming, and gaming.
Visit Suniway.ph to learn
John Unson - Philstar.com
January 26, 2026 | 7:01pm
The getaway vehicle of the three men who ambushed the convoy of the mayor of Shariff Aguak, Maguindanao del Sur is now in the custody of the Police Regional Office-Bangsamoro Autonomous Region.
Photo courtesy of Philstar.com / John Unson
COTABATO CITY— All three gunmen who ambushed the mayor of Shariff Aguak in Maguindanao del Sur on Sunday, January 25, were killed by pursuing soldiers and police officers. The suspects were wanted for high-profile criminal cases in various courts.
Officials from the Army’s 6th Infantry Division and the Police Regional Office–Bangsamoro Autonomous Region confirmed separately to reporters on Monday, January 26, that the slain Budtong Alim Pendatun, Tekz Malid Pendatun, and Puasa Oting Madid were wanted for motorcycle theft, armed robbery, murder, arson, and trafficking of shabu and marijuana.
The gunmen first fired a B40 anti-tank rocket and assault rifles at Mayor Akmad Ampatuan Sr.’s vehicle as it passed through a busy street in the town center of Shariff Aguak on Sunday morning, before fleeing in a gray getaway minivan.
The ambush left two of the mayor’s escorts wounded: Private 1st Class Manuel Arcega Dondiego of the Army’s 90th Infantry Battalion and ethnic Maguindanaon Lakman Eso Tips.
Pursuing volunteer community watchmen, policemen, and soldiers cornered the three suspects in Barangay Meta in nearby Datu Unsay, Maguindanao del Sur. The suspects opened fire, prompting a gunfight that left all three of them dead.
Police Brig. Gen. Jaysen De Guzman, director of the PRO-BAR, told reporters on Monday that officials from the Maguindanao del Sur Provincial Police Office and the Shariff Aguak local government are cooperating to identify those who masterminded the botched attempt on Mayor Ampatuan, a scion of a prominent Moro clan in Maguindanao del Sur.
“We have tightened security in Shariff Aguak after the incident,” De Guzman said.
Relatives of the mayor told reporters they are certain that the three ambushers killed in a clash with pursuing policemen and soldiers were hired to assassinate him, but failed.
Intelligence agents from the Army’s 601st Infantry Brigade, covering Maguindanao del Sur, are assisting PRO-BAR units in identifying those responsible for the ambush for prosecution.
