On the night of Monday 27 March 2000, radio commentator Zamsamin Amputuan was the target of an ambush attempt. Amputuan was on his way home from Cotabato City, Maguindao, in the southern island of Mindanao, when rebels from the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) opened fire at his vehicle, killing two people and injuring several […]
On the night of Monday 27 March 2000, radio commentator Zamsamin Amputuan was the target of an ambush attempt. Amputuan was on his way home from Cotabato City, Maguindao, in the southern island of Mindanao, when rebels from the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) opened fire at his vehicle, killing two people and injuring several others, including Ampatuan.
Amputuan is a radio commentator for the Roman Catholic radio station dxMS, which promotes inter-religious dialogue between Christian and Muslims. His highly critical comments and exposés about the MILF allegedly angered the separatist group, resulting in the murder attempts. However, MILF leaders deny any involvement in the attack, stating that, on the contrary, Ampatuan’s comments, aired on the radio programme “Radio Kalimudan”, were viewed by the MILF as constructive criticism.
According to Metro Manila reports, the intended target of the ambush was Ampatuan. He claims that he has been receiving death threats and has been the target of several attempts on his life. No further developments on the case have been reported.
This latest murder attempt was preceded by a 27 February bomb attack. The bomb, allegedly planted by MILF rebels, exploded in front of the dxMS radio station, injuring several people. The bomb damaged the building where the radio station is located and a van owned by Ampatuan and injured several others, including Ampatuanâs bodyguards.
Three similar incidents occurred a few days before the bombing: a ferry transporting passengers and vehicles sank after two buses loaded with bombs exploded off the port of Ozamiz City, killing and injuring dozens of people, while another bomb left on another bus blew up, killing five passengers and injuring fifteen others. Soldiers successfully disabled a third bomb inside another bus.
Presidential spokesperson Fernando Barican said that President Joseph Estrada had ordered law enforcers to conduct a thorough investigation to identify those responsible for the bombings.
