Maute Sister, Two Other Maute Members Bound For Manila Arrested By PCG At Iloilo City Port

A sister of the two Maute brothers Omarkhayam and Abdullah Maute was arrested by the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) on a ship with two suspected terrorists near the Iloilo port Sunday, June 18.

Capt. Leopoldo Panopio, Coast Guard Commander in Northern Mindanao, withheld the name of the sister but said she was arrested while on board 2GO’s MV St. Therese of the Child Jesus.

Panopio said that coast guard personnel spotted the Maute sister, whose name the official has declined to disclose, at the port of Cagayan de Oro City on Saturday night.

“Pagpasok sa pier ng Northern Mindanao sa CDO, medyo hindi nakuha ang pagkakakilanlan dahil hindi kawangis ng larawan [sa listahan ng wanted na Maute group members),” the PCG official said.

Panopio said that after confirming the Maute sister’s identity on Saturday morning, he and his men rushed to Iloilo province to intercept the 2GO vessel.

“Bago makadaong sa pantalan ay sinalubong na namin para makuha,” he added.

The Maute sister was arrested at past 3 p.m. He said the woman confirmed that she was the wanted Maute sister.

Panopio further said that the suspect used fake identities at the Cagayan de Oro City port.

He said two companions of the Maute sister were also arrested and that one of the two companions of the Maute sister had an amputated leg, which was later identified as a certain Miks Jadid Romato.

Romato was also a wanted Maute group member. Authorities have yet to determine if Romato recently had his leg amputated and if his leg was injured in Marawi City, where the military is fighting hundreds of members of the Maute group.

The Maute sister and two companions are going to Manila when nabbed in Iloilo port.

Earlier, the parents of Maute group leaders Omarkhayam and Abdullah had also been arrested by the authorities.

On Thursday, security forces also arrested Mohammad Noaim Maute alias Abu Jadid in Cagayan de Oro City.

The military said Abu Jadid had joined the Maute group in the Marawi City attack, but was able to slip out of the city by disguising as a fleeing resident.

Brothers Omarkhayam and Abdullah are the known leaders of the ISIS-inspired Maute group, which originated from Lanao del Sur.

The military had said that they are verifying information that Omarkhayam and another brother named Madie were among the Maute group members who have been killed in the ongoing conflict in Marawi City.

Watch the video by Bombo Radyo Iloilo:

Sources: GMA News, Philstar, Bombo Radyo