Manila: The presidential palace has said that it will not engage in talks with militants for the release of a priest and other hostages held in Marawi City, in exchange for the release of members of the Maute family.
Saying that it will not enter into a “prisoner swap,” Presidential Spokesman Ernesto Abella said the government cannot simply release the parents of the Maute brothers, Cayamora and Farhana Maute, in exchange for the freedom of Suganob and the other Marawi hostages.
“The government policy not to negotiate with terrorists remains,” Abella said Tuesday in a palace press briefing.
Earlier, the Philippine Daily Inquirer, quoting a source, said the Daesh-inspired Maute is willing to free Suganob in exchange for the release from government custody of the parents of the Maute brothers.
The Maute also wants the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) to take part in the negotiations to end the crisis in Marawi City.
But Abella said whatever talks parties had engaged in concerning “prisoner swap” is not sanctioned by the government.
The Maute, in the initial hours of the crisis, had stormed government offices, schools and churches.
Suganob was holding a religious ceremony at the Saint Mary Cathedral when armed Maute men barged into the house of worship.
It was presumed that religious leaders in Marawi City had pushed for the talks on prisoner swap.
For its part, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) said on Tuesday said it leaving it to the government to secure the safe release of Soganob.
“It’s a sensitive matter. Let’s leave it to the government and Fr Chito’s bishop to decide on the matter,” the CBCP said in a statement.
“Our only wish is for the safe release of the hostages,” they added
Abella said, “Any local religious leader-led talks with the terrorists last Sunday is one that was not sanctioned by government, the military and our political leaders. Any demands made inside, therefore, hold no basis.”
He warned: “Let us continue to remind the public that the gravity of theirs — of terrorists’ and their supporters’ offence is immense and they must all be held accountable for all their actions.”
The Maute is clan-based militant group operating in Lanao del Sur.
From an organisation led by brothers’ Omarkhayam and Abdullah Maute who were exposed to radical Islam while studying in the Middle East, the group had attracted radical, like-minded adherents from Central Mindanao to as far as Southeast Asia and other countries.
In mid-May, members of the group met with Isnilon Hapilon, the leader of the Basilan faction of the Abu Sayyaf.
The Philippine military, sensing the presence of the key leaders of the radical groups, moved in to arrest members of the organisation with Hapilon and the Maute brothers as the main targets.
In May 23, heavy fighting broke out in Marawi City as the Maute, Abu Sayyaf and their foreign allies went on a rampage while declaring the establishment of a caliphate in Marawi City. Philippine forces were engaged in heavy urban warfare and more than a month later the death toll continues to increase as Marawi City is caught up in a humanitarian crisis.
