Maute Group takes priest, 13 other hostages; 107 detainees freed
ZAMBOANGA CITY – Renegade members of the Maute terrorist group burned the decades-old Cathedral of Our Lady Help of Christians and a prelate dormitory inside Dansalan College in Marawi City Tuesday afternoon and took hostage the vicar general of the Prela-
ture of Marawi and 13 other Catholic devotees who were at that time praying the novena inside the Cathedral.
Marawi City Bishop Edwin dela Peña said the church was preparing to celebrate a feast yesterday and Fr. Teresito Suganod, the church’s vicar general and the church secretary identified as Wendelyn Mayosita, the church council president, two church scholars and a number of devotees were praying the novena when armed bandits barged into the church and took Suganod and the devotees away.
He said his office had not received any word from Fr. Suganod, Mayosita and the two scholars on their whereabouts and condition.
“I don’t know their condition now and where they are as we have not received any information about them after they were taken by the armed group,” Dela Peña said in a radio interview.
At about 10:30 p.m. Tuesday, Bishop Dela Peña said he received a call and on the other line which was from a Maute bandit asking Dela Peña to convince the military to back off. And if the military won’t back off, the man on the other line said the hostages would be killed, Dela Peña shared in a TV interview.
Non-combatant Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas, president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), said Father Chito and the others had no role in the conflict.
“He was not a combatant. He was not bearing arms. He was a threat to none,” Villegas said of the abducted priest. “His capture and that of his companions violates every norm of civilized conflict.”
The CBCP has appealed for prayers for the immediate restoration of peace in Marawi.
“We call on government to deal with the threat without wavering and without compromise. We call on all Catholics to pray with our Muslim brothers and sisters. We call on the occupiers who claim to worship the same God that we all do not defile His name by bloodshed,” Villegas said.
The prelate called on the government to address the conflict with the least possible number of casualties. He also urged the public “to pray for the safety of our soldiers.”
Propaganda
According to Lanao del Sur Provincial Police Director Senior Supt. Oscar Nantes, a gunfight ensued between the Maute Group and the government troops at about 3 p.m. Tuesday when a militarybacked police team was about to serve a warrant against Isnilon Hapilon, a wounded Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) leader who is on the United States’ most-wanted terrorist list with a US$5-million reward for his capture. Hapilon retreated to Lanao Sur to heal his wounds and escape the heat of the military offensive in Sulu where the ASG holds fort. Sources said he joined forces with the Maute Group who lacks a leader.
The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) claimed to have sanctioned the Marawi siege and that its followers had already killed five “spies” as of Tuesday afternoon. The claim written in Arabic was posted on the Amaq news agency, an ISIS propaganda arm.
But Armed Forces of the Philippines-Public Affairs Office (AFP-PAO) chief Marine Colonel Edgard Arevalo said in a statement that what security forces are dealing with in Marawi City are not ISIS militants but local terrorist elements who are pursuing the ISIS jihadist ideology.
“It is propaganda to attract foreign terrorists’ support and recognition,” he added.
Detainees freed
Taking advantage of nighttime and the power outage, the bandits took over the jail facility in Marawi City destroyed its main gate, disarmed and tied down the jail personnel on duty and released about 107 detainees.
In a report sent to the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), Jail Senior Superintendent Mamerto Delloro said the terror group destroyed the padlocks of the cells where all the inmates were set free.
About 68 inmates of the Marawi City Jail and 39 inmates of the Malabang District Jail were released by the terrorists, Delloro said.
A report to the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) chief Serafin Barretto showed that aside from freeing the prisoners, the Maute Group, who are aspiring to be members of the ISIS, carted away assorted firearms of the jail personnel, an Asian and Sports utility vehicles, two prisoners’ van, two motorcycles, and the mobile phones of the jail personnel.
The jail personnel of the Marawi City Jail were identified as Ali Macatanong, Indanan Usman, Exther Tolibas, Amenolah Macadato, Asnawi lala, AlJordan Usman, Abdul Nassif Mamad, Asnawi Ampuan, and Jamael Tiburon.
The jail guards manning the Malabang District Jail were identified as Lonelon Anssao, Abdulahalim Abdullah, and Jalal Sarip.
Manila Bulletin sources said the militants reportedly barged into some houses in Barangay Matampay, coercing young male occupants to join the siege and gave the “sophisticated firearms.” (With reports from AP and Christina I. Hermoso)