DAVAO CITY—The father of the Maute brothers, Cayamora Maute, 67, along with four others were arrested by the Task Force Davao and police at a checkpoint in Sirawan, Toril, at 10 a.m. Tuesday.
Police identified the four others as Norjannah Balawag Maute, daughter of Cayamora; Kongan Alfonso Balawag, second wife of Cayamora; Bengali Tingao, husband of Norjannah; and Aljon Salazar Ismael, driver.
The martial law spokesman for the Eastern Mindanao Command, Brig. Gen. Gilbert Gapay said the five suspects tried to enter Davao City through the Sirawan entry point using a Black Toyota Grandia.
“At the checkpoint Cayamora’s body was covered with a blanket and his face was also wrapped in cloth. This raised the suspicion of the authorities,” Gapay said.
Gapay said that when they were asked for identification, the suspects presented various ID cards, but they recognized Cayamora as the partriarch of the Maute clan.
Under questioning, he admitted to being the father of the Maute brothers, said Chief Supt. Manuel Gaerlan, police regional office director.
“When we asked him about his real identify he admitted that he was Cayamora Makaraya Maute, the father of the Maute brothers and he broke down after that [and] he cried a lot,” Gaerlan said.
Gaerlan said that Cayamora claimed that he went to Davao City for a medical checkup because he had some health problems.
“To the Maute brothers in Marawi, there will be no swapping, only swapping of treatment. Take good care of your hostages and we will take care of your patriarch,” Gaerlan said.
Cayamora has a standing warrant of arrest together with 89 others for five counts of kidnapping and serious illegal detention.
Norjannah, on the other hand, has a warrant of arrest for illegal possesssion of blasting caps and triggering devices.
The suspects will also be charged with rebellion.
Police said they seized a .45 caliber pistol, a grenade and P363,000 from the suspects, who will be detained at the Davao City Police Office.
Armed Forces of the Philippines chief-of-staff Gen. Eduardo Año on Tuesday announced that they are now validating reports that Omar Maute, one of the founders of the Maute group, was killed during an airstrike in Marawi City on May 28.
“The report is still not confirmed and we are still validating it. There is still the possibility that he is alive,” he said.
Omar, the brother of Abdullah Maute, was earlier reported killed in February 2016 during the military offensive against them in Butig, Lanao del Sur.
President Rodrigo Duterte has offered a P10-million reward for information leading to the arrest or killing of Abu Sayyaf leader Isnilon Hapilon, and P5 million for each Maute brother.
The amount is on top of a $5-million bounty for Hapilon offered by the US government.
Meanwhile, a Catholic bishop condemned the destruction of a cathedral inside Marawi City.
Marawi Bishop Edwin de la Peña said the destruction of religious symbols by the terrorists revealed the true intention of the attackers, saying the militants went on a sacrilegious rampage and destroyed the St. Mary’s Cathedral.
“We are angered by what happened. Our faith has really been trampled on,” the bishop said.
The prelate said he had seen the video of Islamist militants destroying the cathedral.
Islamic State news agency Amaq released the video, as the crisis in Marawi entered its second week.
The video also showed some members of the Maute terror group, which claims affiliation with ISIS, yelling “Allahu Akbar” while smashing religious icons, tearing up images of Pope Francis and Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, and burning the church.
“That is blasphemy! It’s unacceptable. It’s obvious that their actions are really out of this world. It’s demonic,” the bishop said.
“The bandits really planned to destroy and burn the church. That’s really their plan even before the attack the city,” he said.
“But we didn’t take it seriously because for us it was unthinkable that it’s going to happen in Marawi,” the prelate added.
The militants also abducted Fr. Chito Suganob, the vicar general of the Marawi prelature, and some staff of the cathedral and churchgoers.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday said the Cagayan de Oro City Regional Trial Court would hear all cases against members of the Maute terrorist group arising from their attack in Marawi City.
Court spokesman Theodore Te also said the Court of Appeals in Mindanao would handle terrorism cases under the Human Security Act.
The order was in response to an earlier request from the Justice Department for the creation of special courts outside Mindanao to handle the Maute cases.
Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II said they would appeal the order.
“It’s not okay with us because CDO is too near to the Lanaos and Marawi City. We will file a motion for reconsideration,” he said in a text message.
Aguirre reiterated that the special courts should be in Luzon or Visayas in order to protect the judges and the judicial system from possible threats and acts of violence.