JUSTICE Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II on Friday ordered immediate inquest proceedings against a suspected bomb maker for the Maute terrorist group arrested in Cagayan de Oro City.
The suspect, Mohaamad Maute alias Abu Jadid, 22, a resident of Butig, Lanao del Sur, was arrested by police and soldiers outside the room he rented in a house in Sitio Santa Cruz, Barangay Macasandig on Thursday.
The suspect’s arrested was pursuant to Arrest Order No. 1 issued and signed by Defense secretary and Martial Law Administrator Delfin Lorenzana dated June 5, for the crime of rebellion.
“The arrest of Mohaamad Maute is a very welcome development in our efforts to bring to justice the perpetrators behind the attacks on the people of Marawi City. Only by successfully prosecuting the responsible parties can we vindicate the people of Marawi City, particularly the innocent victims,” Aguirre said in a statement.
“The perpetrators of the dastardly attacks on Marawi City must be brought to justice. I have instructed the panel of prosecutors to immediately conduct the inquest proceedings and to expedite their prosecution and hopefully, their conviction,” he added.
Aguirre also reiterated his request for the Supreme Court to order the transfer to Metro Manila courts the cases against the Maute terrorist group.
The Justice secretary said the arrest of Maute in Cagayan de Oro justified his department’s request that the hearings be transferred out of the city, farther away from Marawi City, where fighting continues.
On June 6, the Supreme Court designated the Cagayan de Oro regional trial court to handle cases hurled against the Maute members.
The Court also assigned the military’s Camp Evangelista in the same city to serve as the detention of the arrested suspects.
Earlier, the Justice department approved the filing of rebellion charges against Ominta Tamano “Farhana” Maute, mother of Maute group leaders Abdullah and Omar, former Marawi City Mayor Fahad Salic and nine others in connection to the ongoing fighting in Marawi City.
Aside from Salic and Maute, also charged in court were Sumaya Bangkit Masakal, Radiea Tugosa Asire, Mariam Ibnu Abubakar, Zafeerah Rosales Musa, Nehreen Macaraya Abdul, Nora Moctar Limgas, Mardiyya Haji Ali, Sumayya Lawi Ali and Noronisa Haji Camal.
All 11 accused were included in the list of over 300 individuals identified as members of the Maute group, the Abu Sayyaf group, and their sympathizers and ordered arrested for the crime of rebellion.
They were indicted after investigating prosecutors found probable cause to file the case in court following inquest proceedings held at their temporary detention cell in Camp Evangelista in Cagayan De Oro City.
The military on Friday said the attacks in Marawi City were unlikely to happen in nearby Iligan ity and Cagayan de Oro.
Speaking to reporters, Armed Forces spokesperson Brig. Gen. Restituto Padilla admitted that some members of the Maute local terrorist group may have already escaped to Iligan City which is an hour away from Marawi and three hours away from Cagayan de Oro.
“If there were members of the Maute that are in Iligan, we cannot deny that there might be some who mixed up with evacuees from Marawi City to neighboring cities, such as Iligan and Cagayan de Oro,” Padilla said.
“These individuals, they might have slipped and were not processed when they became members [of the Maute,” he added.
The military spokesperson also said that the military is trying to pre-empt possible attempts “to sow some confusion to sow terror in these areas by small actions.”
“Safe to say, I can tell you, they don’t have the capacity to do what they did in Marawi anymore. Their capabilities have been significantly degraded, and they have specifically targeted Marawi to sow terror, wreak havoc, possibly kidnap people, destroy homes, schools, what have you [witnessed]. And that’s what exactly they did,” Padilla said.
“There is a heightened security measure that is employed or enforced now in Iligan and Cagayan de Oro to check and to watch closely any possible movements of suspicious persons so that communities remain safe,” he added.
Intelligence reports said several groups had planned to attack Cagyan de Oro and Liligan as well.
Iligan City Vice Mayor Jemar Vera Cruz earlier said that the military and police intelligence detected the entry of some Maute members in the city.
Chief Information Officer Jose Pantoja meanwhile, said that the city has already tightened its security amid sightings of some 300 armed individuals on Thursday morning in the nearby town of Tagoloan, Lanao del Norte.
“Imagine 300 armed men sighted? So now we are coordinating with the PNP and the military, and the local government,” Pantoja said in a television interview.
Meanwhile, a newly formed “Joint Task Group Ranao” was formed in preparation for Marawi’s rehabilitation, recovery, and reconstruction and rebuilding phase, Padilla said.
Amid reports that some aid packages were barred entry into Marawi City, Padilla urged private aid agencies, Padilla said all relief assistance should be channeled to local government.
Padilla also said Friday that the Maute group terrorists had planned their attack for some time before they struck on May 23.
“They have planned for this for a long time and may have laid caches of arms in certain areas that will sustain them as they move into the interiors when they make a retreat or consolidation,” he added.
As of 6 p.m. June 15, the number of Maute group members killed has been placed at 225 with government losses at 59 and civilians executed by the terrorists at 26.
Civilians pulled out or rescued from the danger zone at placed at 1,629 and firearms recovered from the bandits at 208.
Senator Sherwin Gatchalian, meanwhile, called on the national government to act swiftly in laying the groundwork for a long-term recovery and rehabilitation program to revitalize the war-torn city and help its citizens rebuild their lives.
“When the government finally wins the battle against the Maute group, an even more challenging battle will begin: the fight to rebuild Marawi City. We have to start preparing for this formidable task as early as now,” Gatchalian said.
The firefight between government forces and the Maute terrorist group still rages on in Marawi City. With Macon Ramos-Araneta, PNA