Maute group’s link to illegal drugs

That government is trying to prove a link between the siege by the Maute group in Marawi City to the illegal drugs trade does not mean the act should be forced. Neither should it weaken the effort to quell Islamic State (IS)aligned militancy in Mindanao and in the country.

To be fair, President Rodrigo Duterte and Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief Ronald dela Rosa have linked the Mautes to the illegal drugs trade even before the Marawi siege. This seems to have been bolstered when the police recently found P10 million worth of shabu in one of the houses of former Marawi City mayor Omar Solitario Ali. The house is only around three kilometers from the combat zone.

The link of the former mayor, who was in the list released in August of personalities accused by the president of peddling illegal drugs, has still to be established. The same can actually be said of an earlier claim by a military official on the money and checks amounting to P79 million found in a barangay in Marawi. He said the money may have come from transactions in illegal drugs.

And even if a link is established, that does not necessarily mean that the selling of illegal drugs is the reason for the existence of the Maute group. Rather, that may be closer to the idea that peddling illegal drugs is but among the many sources of funding for the group’s actual intention, which is to establish an IS-aligned caliphate in Mindanao.

Tha Maute siege seems to be, first and foremost, about IS-aligned groups attempting to seize a territory. One can actually mine pieces of evidence that bolster this angle. The focus should therefore be on this aspect, which is what makes the Marawi siege more dangerous. More so because of the global character of the siege that reports say has drawn the support from militants in other southeast Asian countries.

Of course, it is important to establish the Maute group’s link to the illegal drugs trade if only to cut off one of its funding sources. But that should be done in the overall context of battling the IS-inspired terrorist menace in Mindanao and in other places of the country.