Three suspected gunmen were killed after a pursuit; police say a fourth accomplice escaped.
SHARIFF AGUAK, Philippines — A small-town mayor in Maguindanao del Sur survived an ambush early Sunday when a man stepped from a van and fired a rocket-propelled grenade at his convoy near a gas station, police said. Mayor Akmad Mitra Ampatuan was unhurt inside an armored black SUV, while two escorts suffered minor injuries in the blast and gunfire.
The attack, at about 6:20 a.m. on Jan. 25, came on a busy stretch of road in this southern province long troubled by political violence. Authorities said the strike appeared aimed squarely at the convoy’s lead vehicle. Investigators are reviewing multiple CCTV clips that show a gunman shouldering a launcher as accomplices moved from a silver minivan. The incident touched off a daylong hunt that ended with three suspects dead and one at large, escalating pressure on local commanders to explain security measures and on prosecutors to build a rapid case.
Police said the assailants opened fire moments after the convoy slowed by a roadside business. In the footage, a man disembarks, aims a shoulder-fired rocket, and launches at the mayor’s vehicle. The projectile struck near the SUV, ripping pavement and shattering nearby glass. Bodyguards returned fire as the convoy sped away toward safer ground. Residents ducked behind storefronts as smoke and dust filled the frame. “The objective was to kill,” Brig. Gen. Randulf Tuaño, the national police spokesperson, said in a briefing. He added that the armored vehicle likely prevented mass casualties and that commanders are assessing whether any security lapses preceded the ambush.
Responding units from the Philippine National Police and the Army’s 90th Infantry Battalion pursued the suspects into Datu Unsay, where an exchange left three men dead. A fourth suspect fled on foot and remains at large, investigators said. Police identified the alleged ringleader as Budtong “Rap-Rap” Pendatun, who they said was with a cousin and an uncle during the attack. Officers noted that Pendatun had standing warrants tied to murder and robbery cases before Sunday’s events. Forensic teams recovered shell casings and fragments consistent with a B-40–type rocket, along with rifles left in the suspects’ van. Ampatuan’s two injured escorts were treated for abdominal bruising and were later discharged, a mayoral aide said.
Officials stressed that no group has claimed responsibility. The province has seen cycles of clan feuds and insurgent-linked violence, and authorities said it is too early to assign a motive. Residents said the attempted assassination echoed a 2010s-era ambush in a neighboring town, where gunmen attacked a convoy along the Cotabato–Isulan route. Records show Ampatuan has previously been targeted, including a roadside attack more than a decade ago. The footage in Sunday’s case, however, is unusually clear: it shows the van pulling curbside, doors sliding open, and the gunman bracing the launcher before firing in daylight traffic.
Investigators opened a case file for attempted murder and illegal possession of explosives and firearms. Provincial prosecutors are coordinating with police to track the fourth suspect and verify whether the launcher and rifles were sourced locally or smuggled. Commanders said additional checkpoints were set along provincial roads connecting Shariff Aguak, Datu Unsay, and nearby towns. The police information office said a formal update is expected by Wednesday, Jan. 28, pending autopsy results, ballistic reports, and sworn statements from the convoy’s security team and roadside witnesses.
At the scene Monday, workers swept glass from storefronts and patched a crater near the gas station forecourt. Shop owner Sittie Amina, who watched the video shared around town, said she hid her children behind the counter when she heard the blast. “It was like thunder, but close,” she said. Vice Mayor Hadji Oping Ampatuan, who helped release the CCTV footage, said the mayor returned to work under tightened protection and thanked first responders for “fast action.” A barangay volunteer said drivers were still slowing at the site, pointing at the scorch marks that now ring the lane divider.
As of Tuesday afternoon, the mayor remained under guard at the municipal hall while police teams took additional statements and canvassed more cameras along the route. The provincial police chief said officers are checking whether the suspects cased the area days earlier. Officials plan to brief reporters again after the laboratory results and identification of the third deceased suspect are confirmed. The next milestone is the filing of charges once the fourth suspect is found or named in absentia.
Author note: Last updated Tuesday, January 27, 2026.