ICC Note:

The war between the Philippine military and ISIS militants, the Maute group, has been going on ever since the Maute group invaded Marawi on May 23rd. Presently, the Maute group is attempting to negotiate with the government. The militants are willing to release Fr Teresito “Chito” Suganob, the priest taken hostage earlier in the invasion if the government releases the Maute brothers’ parents and relatives. The parents and relatives were arrested on two separate occasions. However, President Duterte and the government are not willing to negotiate with any terrorists.

06/28/2017 The Philippines (AsiaNews.it) – The Filipino government has rejected an offer from Abdullah Maute, one of the leaders of the terrorist group that has been holed up in the city of Marawi since 23 May, to release Fr Teresito “Chito” Suganob in exchange for his parents and relatives, captured by the armed forces and now in government custody.

Mgr Edwin de la Peña, bishop of Marawi, said the decision to deal or not with terrorists is up to the government, noting that the Catholic Church will not take part in any negotiations for the release of Fr Chito and other hostages, seized during the attack against the Catholic cathedral at the start of the conflict.

Father Chito, vicar general of the Prelature of St Mary in Marawi and chaplain at Mindanao State University (MSU), was abducted by militants linked to the Islamic State along with two church workers and a dozen parishioners.

In a video released by Maute guerrillas on 30 May, the priest said he was part of a group of about 240 hostages. According to local sources, most of them are Christian and tribal.

On Sunday, eight Muslim leaders met with Abdullah Maute on behalf of Filipino authorities during a ceasefire of eight hours ordered by the Armed Forces to allow Marawi residents to celebrate the Islamic festivity of Eid al- Fitr.

The terrorist leader told government emissaries that his group was willing to pull back from the city if the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) intervened to put an end to the crisis.

MILF spokesperson Von Al Haq said his group was willing to intervene, but it wanted to consult its counterpart in the government first.

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