(Eagle News)– The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) on Friday (June 9) denied that Abu Sayyaf group leader Isnilon Hapilon had slipped out of Marawi City amid ongoing offensive efforts of government forces against Maute group.
“Hindi po ‘to napapatibayan. Hindi po ito totoo at naniniwala sila [troops] na nandoon pa [si Hapilon],” AFP spokesperson Brig. Gen. Restituto Padilla Jr. said during the Mindanao Hour briefing in Malacañang.
Photos and videos of Hapilon earlier surfaced having a meeting with alleged Maute group members, plotting the Marawi siege.
The ISIS reportedly appointed Hapilon as its “emir” in the Philippines.
The government forces were about to serve an arrest warrant on Hapilon when the Maute group attacked Marawi City, prompting President Rodrigo Duterte to declare martial law in Mindanao on May 23.
President Duterte had already offered an additional P10 million bounty for the neutralization of Hapilon.
