Wife of Maguindanao massacre suspect dies during prayer

SHARIFF AGUAK, Maguindanao – The wife of the primary suspect in the Maguindanao massacre passed away on Friday due to cardiac arrest.

Mayor Reshal Santiago Ampatuan, 38, of Datu Unsay town was performing her noontime prayer when she collapsed, a relative reported.

Reshal was the wife of former Datu Unsay mayor Andal “Datu Unsay” Ampatuan Jr., who remained in jail for the now infamous Maguindanao massacre that led to the deaths of 58 persons – mostly journalists.

Reshal was rushed by relatives to the Maguindanao provincial hospital here but she expired about 1 p.m.

Her remains were now at the house of the late Maguindanao Gov. Andal Ampatuan Sr. in Barangay Poblacion here.

Brig. Gen. Diosdado Carreon, commander of the Army’s 601st Infantry Brigade, said the Army provided security in the vicinity of the Ampatuan mansion – where Reshal’s relatives, friends and local officials were paying their last respects to the mayor ahead of the scheduled burial within the day.

Mayor Ampatuan was last seen in public during the visit of President Duterte in Isulan, Sultan Kudarat.