Andal Ampatuan, Jr. is the current mayor Datu Unsay, Maguindanao. A member of the powerful Ampatuan political family in Maguindanao province, on the island of Mindanao in the Philippines, his father, Andal Ampatuan, Sr., is governor of the province and patriarch of the family. His brother, Zaldy Ampatuan, is the regional governor of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).
Ampatuan came to international attention in November 2009 as a result of the Maguindanao massacre. He was to run for governor of the province against Esmael Mangudadatu in the 2010 elections. However, Mangudadatu's female relatives and a group of journalists were ambushed and killed in the massacre, and Ampatuan Jr. quickly became the prime suspect. A member of the ruling Lakas-Kampi-CMD party, he and his father and brother were expelled by party chairman Gilberto Teodoro due to the massacre. He surrendered to Filipino authorities and was charged with murder. He has denied any involvement, though several witnesses have gone on record stating that they saw him at the scene of the crime.
