Some Maute militants may have exited Marawi, official says

MANILA, Philippines — A military official on Thursday said that some members of the Maute local terror group may have already left Marawi City.

“It is possible [for the Marawi members to escape] because at the very start we haven’t plot all the exits of Marawi yet. It's possible [that] some may have exited Marawi before the incident escalated,” Brig. Gen. Gilbert Gapay, deputy commander of the Eastern Mindanao Command, said in a televised press conference.

Since May 23, when the clashes began, the government has maintained that it is in control of the situation. The military has since said that it controls the roads into and out of the city, the capital of Lanao del Sur province.

Gapay cited how an alleged leader of the Maute group and clan patriarch, Cayamora, was apprehended at a Davao City checkpoint. He had managed to travel to Kidapawan or Tagum before he and four others were seized on Tuesday morning.

The military official said that they have received reports that Cayamora was spotted in one of the villages in Marawi when the attacks began but they are still verifying the information.

Gapay however said that while some may have escaped Marawi City, the fugitive Abu Sayyaf leader Insilon Hapilon, who is believed to be leading the terrorist Maute-ISIS group, is still in the city.

Hapilon swore allegiance to ISIS in a YouTube video posted in July 2014 and is believed to be the “emir” of ISIS in the country.

President Rodrigo Duterte has set a P10-million bounty for the neutralization of Hapilon and a bounty of P5 million for each of the two Maute brothers, Abdullah and Omar.

In response to the attacks and the subsequent declaration of martial law in Mindanao, local governments have implemented tighter security measures like checkpoints and "No ID, No Entry" policies. Cotabato City has also imposed a curfew within its jurisdiction.