[2] After graduating from high school in Dansalan in 1938, he took up law at the University of the Philippines, where he met fellow student Ferdinand Marcos and was impressed by his defense during his trial for the murder of Julio Nalundasan.

[2] Upon the outbreak of the Pacific theatre of the Second World War in December 1941, Dimaporo was drafted into the Philippine Army but was interned by the Japanese in Bukidnon in May 1942 following the American surrender.

[3] After the war, Dimaporo joined the Philippine Constabulary and served as company commander in Malabang and Tugaya, handling the surrender of loose firearms and participating in anti-slavery operations in the area.

In 1965, Dimaporo was elected representative of Lanao del Norte to Congress, serving until it was closed by President Marcos in 1972 following the declaration of Martial Law.

[5] As a reward, Marcos appointed Dimaporo as Governor of Lanao del Sur and concurrent president of the Mindanao State University (MSU) at the height of the Martial Law dictatorship in 1976, following the exile of his political rivals, the Lucmans and the Alontos.

[6] He was also said to have owned properties in Metro Manila[7] and Los Angeles[6] and amassed a private army of about 4,000 followers,[8] which in turn grew out of the “Barracuda” militias that he helped establish in the late 1960s during the early phase of the sectarian conflict in Mindanao.

Although they were removed in a lightning operation by the military in April, his supporters then staged a series of attacks on opponents and army units in Marawi, while Dimaporo holed himself up in Binidayan, insisting on his legitimacy as governor and refusing to surrender his arsenal.

[1] Dimaporo was also accused of involvement in coup attempts against Aquino in July 1986[9] and August 1987, the last of which was said to have been planned at his residence in Corinthian Gardens, Quezon City.