MALACAÑANG yesterday condemned the attempted ambush on Mayor Akmad Mitra Ampatuan of Shariff Aguak in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) and called for heightened vigilance to ensure the safety of local officials.
Presidential Communications Operations Office Undersecretary Claire Castro said President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. expressed strong disapproval of the attack, which the mayor survived unharmed.
Following the incident, the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) responded immediately to address the situation.
Castro said that DILG Chief Jonvice Remulla praisedthe swift action of the Police Regional Office in BARMM, which helped secure the area and neutralized the three suspects in a hot pursuit operation.
“Peace and order initiatives will continue to be strengthened by the DILG and this administration,” Castro said.
She also urged residents to report suspicious activities to authorities to ensure timely protection.
The ambush comes despite President Marcos’ earlier calls for unity and cooperation among local leaders in the BARMM ahead of the upcoming elections.
In Cotabato City, Mayor Ampatuan said he will open a welfare care for the parents of the youthful ambushers slain in a clash with authorities.
He described the three attackers as “pitiful youth who were only victims (of circumstances).”
Local authorities said residents of Barangays Meta and Satan have identified the slain attackers as Budtong Alim, Malid Pen-datun and Oting Madid–all in their early teens.
Ampatuan could not say whether the ambush might be “politically motivated”, as it was early yet to the May 2028 elections. But he added his uniformed escorts were being “recalled” back to camp, leaving him with only one security personnel from the military.
“Other mayors have several. But I am only allowed for one. Fortunately, the 90thInfantry Battalion of the Philippine Army sent me one more Army man. If not for that, we would not have seen each other here,” Ampatuan said in Pilipino.
“Ina-alok namin sila na dito na lang sila, yung mga nanay ng mga batang tumambang sa amin. Kawawa naman sila. Mga bata pa kasi ang mga yun at mga biktima lang sila.” [We are offering them, the mothers, to just stay here (in Shariff Aguak) with us. and we will take care of them and their families. I pity them, because their sons were too young to die that way, and they were only victims.
