Heart attack stops Maranao ex-captain’s comeback bid

DAVAO CITY, Philippines – A former chairman in one of Davao City’s villages passed away on Monday, May 14 – the same day of the elections he hoped to win.

Amilbangsa Manding died of heart attack 9 pm Monday, according to Senior Superintendent Alexander Tagum, Davao City police chief.

The news was also confirmed to Rappler by Gapor Usman, the city’s deputy mayor for the Maranao tribe.

Manding had just voted in the afternoon, although he was already seen in terrible shape, with men having to lift him from his car towards the voting precinct at Barangay 23-C.

He previously served Barangay 23-C, a community with a population of over 16,000 people. On Monday, authorities closely watched the election process in the village, which is an election hotspot. 

Supporters of the incumbent chairman, Alemudin “Wating” Usman, ran into fisticuffs with Manding’s supporters a couple of days before the elections. What started as a trade of barbs led to a riot that wounded two of gunshots, and another from stabbing. 

A Maranao, Manding once served as president of the Association of Barangay Captains in Davao City, and received favorable support from then mayor Rodrigo Duterte.

But his relationship with Duterte went sour in 2013, when Manding could not show a “proactive” anti-illegal drug program in his community, according to a Sun.Star Davao report.

This is the second time Davao City witnessed a death of a candidate in this year’s elections. On Sunday, May 13, Pangyan’s village chief Antonio Guatno was killed in a raid led by the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group XI. – Rappler.com