Esmael Gaguil Mangudadatu[3] (Tagalog pronunciation: [mɐŋʊdɐˈdatʊʔ]; born August 15, 1968) is a Filipino politician who previously served as the representative of Maguindanao's 2nd district from 2019 to 2022.

[7] Starting a family after getting married cut his medical studies short but he later earned his political science degree from the University of Mindanao in Davao City.

[7] Mangudadatu visited the then governor of Maguindanao province, Zacaria Candao, to obtain approval for a new business venture.

The 57 people killed included Mangudadatu's wife, two of his sisters, and a cousin, in addition to numerous journalists, lawyers, aides, and motorists who were witnesses or were mistakenly identified as part of the convoy.

[14][15] Mangudadatu told reporters that his wife was able to call her husband just before she was killed, "She said... they had been stopped by 100 uniformed armed men... then her line got cut off,"[1] The man thought responsible, Andal Ampatuan Jr. denied that he was responsible and instead blamed the MILF, an armed Islamic group that operates in the Southern Philippines.

[16] Four days after the massacre, Mangudadatu traveled along the same road where the attack had occurred to successfully file his candidacy in the election.

Kamendan's wife denied the Ampatuan connection and has stated in an affidavit that her husband was just shopping when Mangudadatu ordered his men to shoot him.

[20] On August 15, 2011, Mangudadatu's convoy was involved in a car bombing incident along a highway in Tacurong city, Sultan Kudarat.