Ampatuan, Maguindanao is a municipality

Municipalities of the Philippines

A municipality is a local government unit in the Philippines. Municipalities are also called towns . They are distinct from cities, which are a different category of local government unit...

 in the province

Provinces of the Philippines

The Provinces of the Philippines are the primary political and administrative divisions of the Philippines. There are 80 provinces at present, further subdivided into component cities and municipalities. The National Capital Region, as well as independent cities, are autonomous from any provincial...

 of Maguindanao

Maguindanao

Maguindanao is a province of the Philippines located in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao . Its capital is Shariff Aguak. It borders Lanao del Sur to the north, Cotabato to the east, and Sultan Kudarat to the south....

, Philippines

Philippines

The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...

.

Barangays

Ampatuan is politically subdivided into 11 barangay

Barangay

A barangay is the smallest administrative division in the Philippines and is the native Filipino term for a village, district or ward...

s.

• Dicalongan (Pob.)
• Kakal
• Kamasi
• Kapilpilaan
• Kauran
• Malatimon
• Matagabong
• Saniag
• Tomicor
• Tubak
• Salman

History

Ampatuan was created out of 23 barrios

Barangay

A barangay is the smallest administrative division in the Philippines and is the native Filipino term for a village, district or ward...

 of Datu Piang

Datu Piang

Piang popularly known as Datu Piang was a Maguindanao leader, often referred to as the Grand Old Man of Cotabato....

 on June 21, 1959 by Republic Act No. 2509. On November 22, 1973, the municipality of Esperanza

Esperanza, Sultan Kudarat

Esperanza is a 3rd class municipality in the province of Sultan Kudarat, Philippines. According to the 2000 census, it has a population of 47,578 people in 9,598 households.-Barangays:Esperanza is politically subdivided into 20 barangays.* Ala* Daladap...

 was carved out of its territory and was made part of the province of Sultan Kudarat, while Ampatuan itself was made part of Maguindanao

Maguindanao

Maguindanao is a province of the Philippines located in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao . Its capital is Shariff Aguak. It borders Lanao del Sur to the north, Cotabato to the east, and Sultan Kudarat to the south....

, when the old Cotabato

Cotabato

Cotabato , is a landlocked province of the Philippines located in the SOCCSKSARGEN region in Mindanao...

 province was divided into three provinces on the same date. It further lost territory, when its electorate ratified on January 3, 2004, the separation of ten of its barangay

Barangay

A barangay is the smallest administrative division in the Philippines and is the native Filipino term for a village, district or ward...

s to form the municipality of Datu Abdullah Sangki

Datu Abdullah Sangki, Maguindanao

-References:...

.

The town was the site of the Maguindanao Massacre

Maguindanao massacre

The Maguindanao massacre, also known as the Ampatuan massacre after the town where the mass graves were found, occurred on the morning of November 23, 2009, in the town of Ampatuan in Maguindanao province, on the island of Mindanao in the Philippines...

 on November 23, 2009. The victims were about to file a certificate of candidacy for Esmael Mangudadatu

Esmael Mangudadatu

Esmael “Toto" Mangudadatu or is the Governor of Maguindanao, in the Philippines. Mangudadatu was elected for governor of Maguindanao after defeating his closest rival, Ombra Sinsuat by a margin of 12,705 votes...

, vice mayor of Buluan town for the province's gubernatorial election. Mangudadatu was challenging Andal S. Ampatuan, Jr. (son of the incumbent Maguindanao governor Datu Andal Ampatuan, Sr.

Andal Ampatuan, Sr.

Andal Ampatuan, Sr. is the patriarch of the Ampatuan political family in Maguindanao province, on the island of Mindanao in the Philippines. He was the governor of the province....

, the mayor of Datu Unsay, and accused of leading the massacre) in the election.The Municipal Officials were headed by Datu Zacaria S. Sangki Al-haj-Mayor, Datu Rasul M. Sangki-Vice Mayor, Sata Basilan-Budget Officer, Jose Bañaga-MPDC, Mohamad S. Sangki-Administrator, Benjamier U. Mastura-Population Officer,Kungan Sangki-MSWDO,