AWANG, Maguindanao—It was a funeral march on a long string of convoy last seen here 30 years ago, mourners said.
Former Maguindanao Rep. Didagen Dilangalen said the burial convoy delivering former Gov. Datu Andal Ampatuan Sr. to his final resting place in Shariff Aguak, Maguindanao, was similar to the seemingly endless string of vehicles in the interment of former Sen. Salipada Pendatun on Jan. 27, 1985, in Badak, Buluan, Maguindanao.
Mayor Genuine Kamaong of Datu Piang, Maguindanao, said he could not agree more with Dilangalen.
Ampatuan Sr. was 73.
The body was deplaned at 11:30 a.m. and carried onto a black Chevrolet owned by Ampatuan Sr. at the Awang Airport in Datu Odin Sinsuat, Maguindanao, where it was met by relatives and political allies, including former Mayor Hadji Ali Midtimbang, father-in-law of son Zaldy, and Dilangalen.
People flocked to the Ampatuan mansion in Shariff Aguak where the body was alighted into a bed shielded on all four sides with a light green cloth, and on which the remains were carried inside the house where kin and friends paid their last respects.
Final rites
A prayer for the final rites was performed, many them by male relatives, inside a private family mosque Ampatuan Sr. had built inside his mansion compound during his heydays in power.
Ampatuan Sr.’s body was interred around 2:45 p.m., Rajah Buayan Mayor Zamzamin Ampatuan, his nephew, said.
It was in accordance with Islamic law that says the dead should be buried before sunset, he said.
Earlier, some Ampatuan relatives agreed that the former Maguindanao governor would be buried after the evening prayers but many others opposed this idea during another meeting conducted on Saturday.
Only close family members, relatives, political allies and supporters were allowed inside the Ampatuan mansion.
Relatives identified with Ampatuan’s political rivals have opted not to enter the heavily guarded compound and stayed outside the mansion’s gates.
No official statement from Ampatuan Sr.’s immediate family members in connection with his death has been issued as of yet.
De facto ruler
At the Ampatuan mansion in Shariff Aguak, people squeezed themselves in to pay their last respects to the man considered the de facto ruler of Maguindanao for years.
The family wanted the burial to be as much as possible private to them, according to Hadji Yakub Ampatuan, a son-in-law of the deceased former official.
But what happened was hundreds of people paying their last respects and joining the mourning, he said.
Another relative said the body was prebathed and anointed (massaged) while in Manila, in accordance with Muslim law rites, and was ready for burial upon arrival in Shariff Aguak.
The interment took place on a space next to the tombs of his son Saudi, a former mayor, and Hofer.
Extending condolences from the Lucman and Alonto families of Lanao, Norodin Alonto Lucman, eldest son of the late Lanao Rep. Al-Rashid Lucman, said: “The last time I saw him (Ampatuan Sr.) was in Shariff Aguak years ago, when he gleefully recounted to me his fondness of Bapa (Rashid Lucman) and Gen. Salipada Pendatun, two Muslim leaders whom he idolized and respected.”
Unprecedented record
Former Assemblyman Datu Pike Mentang said Ampatuan set an unprecedented record in ARMM politics when he had strong influence over Muslim leaders and could gather them into meetings in his house literally “at the click of his fingertips.”
Dr. Abubakar Datumanong, an official of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), said the death of Ampatuan Sr. may have come as a surprise to those who believed that “he who lives by the gun shall die by the gun.”
He even noted the former governor’s death almost came on a Ramadan fasting day, which every Muslim could only wish for as an appointed time of death.
Muslims believe mortal sin is deemed forgiven for one who dies on Ramadan.
While many have kind words to say, the ex-governor’s story is inevitably prejudged by many on his alleged participation in the 2009 Maguindanao massacre in which 58 people, including 33 media workers, died in Sitio Masalay, Salman, Ampatuan, Maguindanao.
“He was powerful and moneyed. But in the end, the dead Muslim only has a piece of white cloth to bring with him or her to the grave,” a Muslim religious teacher said.
Still others, by the grapevine, would implicate him in other murders allegedly taking place in his turf—including the undying story of the so-called “chainsaw massacre.”
The younger Lucman quickly added: “Wealth and power could be intoxicating.” With a report from Edwin Fernandez