MILITARY officials said Friday that all of the Maute brothers, except Omar, may already be dead.
“They have reason to believe that only one of the Maute brothers remains in the fight, and this is Omar. The rest are believed to have been killed,” said Armed Forces of the Philippines spokesman Brig. Gen. Restituto Padilla in a briefing in Malacañang.
Padilla acknowledged that until the bodies of the five other Maute brothers are recovered and subjected to DNA testing, they could not say for sure that the reports of their death were true.
“But information on the ground, along with those revelations from hostages who have gone out of the area, and other information available to the troops point to this development,” he added.
Padilla also said they believed that Abu Sayyaf leader Isnilon Hapilon, the so-called emir of the Islamic State in Southeast Asia, was still in Marawi.
He said if rumors that he had fled Marawi were true, he would no longer be recognized as the group’s leader.
At the same time, Padilla said the military has spent P3 billion so far to battle the Islamic extremists in Marawi City, and would need more money to continue the fight.
“The cash register is clicking daily as the fighting goes on, and this will be costly for our government,” Padilla said.
“This is why our government has seen it fit to provide the Armed Forces of the Philippines additional funds to allow us to secure the things we will need to finish this fight,” he added.
He said the military would need P1 billion more to replenish munitions, fuel and other materials in the war effort, but gave no timetable for the campaign.
The crisis in Marawi City poses a serious threat to the government of President Rodrigo Duterte, who has deployed thousands of troops and imposed martial law across the southern third of the country.
Padilla, however, said the government will not negotiate with former Marawi City mayor Omar Solitario Ali, who again sent a text message to Peace Process Secretary Jesus Dureza offering to negotiate the release of hostages in exchange for the safe passage of Maute gunmen.
“The Chief of Staff [Gen. Eduardo Año] conveys that we stand by the policy of no negotiations with whatever terrorist groups there are,” Padilla said. “Any negotiation will just prolong the conflict.”
Instead, Padilla called for the former mayor’s arrest.
“Solitario should not be taken seriously because he is a supporter of bandits in Marawi. He should be arrested because he is one of those who instigated the conflict.”
The fighting began at the end of May after a foiled attempt to arrest Isnilon Hapilon, who is on America’s list of most wanted terrorists with a $5 million bounty and is said to be the leader of the IS in Southeast Asia.
Hundreds of armed militants, including foreign fighters, went on a shooting, burning and looting rampage across Marawi City, taking hostages including a Catholic priest.
The military said the raid caused the militants to prematurely implement a plot to seize Marawi and turn it into an IS caliphate in the south.
The fighting has left 651 militants dead along with 45 civilians and 145 soldiers and police, with nearly half a million residents of Marawi and nearby homes forced to flee, the government said. With AFP